Tonight:
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140mph link ready to go... but the fares will soar 20%
Dick Murray01.06.09
The fastest commuter trains into London - at 140mph - will run between Ashford and St Pancras International starting on Monday, 29 June.
They will more than halve journey times, to 37 minutes rather than the current 80 minutes, but commuters will also have to pay an extra 20 per cent on the cost of a ticket.
Operator Southeastern has been given permission by the Government to load fares by up to 35 per cent to pay for the new trains, which will run between Eurostar services, but is not expected to levy the full amount.
The service will begin as preview operation with three peak times services in the morning and three home in the evening. There will also be four services to and from Ebbsfleet International in the morning and six back in the evening. Services will increase from December.
A single ticket will be £26.60 compared with £22.20, and a return £48.70 rather than £40.60 - and may increase when the full timetable begins at the end of the year.
Charles Horton, Southeastern managing director, said: "These preview services offer many passengers the opportunity to reduce their journey times."
Two out of five trains are still running late on Britain's "showpiece" West Coast main line despite a £9billion upgrade, leaked figures reveal today. Rail unions called the Network Rail upgrade of the high-speed line, which runs between Euston and Glasgow, a "fiasco".
