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High Speed 1, officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, is a 108-kilometre (67-mile) high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.
When the Channel Tunnel was opened, Eurostar trains ran on standard commuter tracks through Kent and south London to Waterloo International, running at speeds much below their maximum due to speed limits and competing rail traffic. High Speed 1 was constructed to provide a dedicated fast route between the tunnel and London and was constructed and opened in two sections.
The first section of the line was opened in September 2003 and ran from the tunnel to North Kent where trains transferred from the high speed tracks to the Kent and South London commuter network to run to Waterloo International. The second section of the line, travelling under the River Thames and into London St Pancras, opened on 14 November 2007. Built at a cost of £5.2bn, the link allows trains to travel at speeds of 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph), cutting pre-2003 Eurostar journey times by 40 minutes and increasing service frequency. It is now possible to travel from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord in 2 hours 15 minutes, and to Brussels South in 1 hour 51 minutes. Domestic high speed commuter services from Kent to St Pancras started in December 2009 running at speeds of up to 225 kilometres per hour (140 mph). (Full article...)
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Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 - 13 April 1901) was chairman or a director of many British railways including the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He was intermittently a member of parliament, representing Hythe from 1874 to 1895.
Through his leadership of the MR, SER and MS&LR, Watkin had the amibtion to construct a new mainline railway connecting the north of England, via London and Kent to the continent. Although his plans for a channel tunnel to be constructed by his Anglo-French Submarine Railway were never realised, the MS&LR constructed its London extension in the 1890s from Annesley, Nottinghamshire to the MR's station at Quainton Road in Buckinghamshire to a continental loading gauge. Reflecting its enhanced connections the MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1987.
To encourage tourist day-trips on the MR, Watkin planned a pleasure grounds at Wembley Park, with a large tower, "Watkin's Tower", intended to be larger than the Eiffel Tower. The park opened in 1896, but because of cost and structural problems, the tower was never completed and was demolished after Watkin's death. The site was subsequently used for Wembley Stadium. (Full article...)
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- ...that Arsenal is the only Underground station to be named after a London football club (it was previously known as Gillespie Road)? Watford and West Ham are both named after the areas they serve.
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Image 1London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 3Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 4The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 5Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 8The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 9The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 10Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 11Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 13Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 14Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 15Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 16"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 17Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 18Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 19Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 23The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 24The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 25Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 26Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 27Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 28TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 29The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 30Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 31Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 32The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 3355 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 34Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 35London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 36Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 37View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 39Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 40A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 41Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 43Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 46Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 47London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 49Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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