Re Rail Confusion And The Curse Of Me (post 2063)
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Jan19
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Doing a bit more research into this rail lark, following a report from Ma and Pa today that a section of track between London and Folkestone is closing for a year, possibly a tunnel, and possibly near Strood... While surfing I found this BBC piece that says the first bit of the channel tunnel rail link is open already... is it being used? I don't get it! It looks like there are at least two projects on the go, one is the linking of the Channel Tunnel with London via new high speed track, and that will benefit those Cockneys who wish to travel to That France and so on. The knock on effects of this will be that the regular Kent trains won't need to stop and get out of the Eurostar's way, as they do now, this will speed up the journey time... I think also there is some sort of project bringing a quick link between Folkestone and London, like Brighton has already, not sure though...
Also I must sadly report that the curse of me in Folkestone strikes again... the Fig Cafe was our favourite place to eat in Folkestone, at the Metropole, though we only managed to go there once, before it shut down. Since that sad day, we've been trying to get into Sylvester's, as it had a good range of English dishes, some of them vegan, but each time we tried to get in they were fully booked... found out this week that place has closed too, though it's reopening as Timothy's Wine Bar... trying to find a place to drink, we went to The Front, a nice newish place by The Harbour only to find that is closing at the end of the month, and on leaving there found that The Earl Grey has shut already. I am dreading mentioning again the best place to drink in Folkestone for fear of jinxing it...
Ah, this BBC story confirms that Strood tunnel is closing for two weeks, and also suggests that Folkestone Central will be the terminus of the new high speed rail link, which I now think it's best not to confuse with the channel tunnel rail link... I'm boring myself now, so I'm off to watch Buffy, we got series five at the weekend, a belated christmas gift... Keep following those amazon links, I earned 50 quid this quarter...
2004 :: Comment / reply
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The BBC article mentions a high speed link between Folkestone and Fawkenham. Where IS Fawkenham? I've searched in Google and Multimaps but no clue. Is it anywhere near London?
Diidi :: 8 Oct :: 2004 :: Comment / reply
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Sounds like very North Kent to me, but I don't know. Heard from a journo that it was confirmed to stop at Folkestone, Gashford, Northfleet and London King's Cross. This tai chi site lumps Fawkenham in with Northfleet, don't know what to make of all this info though...
Hmm, I'm guessing now they meant Ashford. Maybe Fawkenham is someone's idea of a joke name for Folkestone?
8 Oct :: 2004 :: Comment / reply
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Yes, there is a new railway line cutting through kent. It's the high speed channel tunnel rail link. The first stage is up and running with Paris/Brussels to London Eurostar trains wisking along at a cool 300KPH!!! Commuter services along the line will hopefull be available along the line after 2007 when the 2nd section is complete, stopping at Folkestone, Ashford and a possible extension to Dover, plus Ebbsfleet near Gravesend, Stratford before finally reaching St Pancras.
The line doesn't just benefit "Cockneys" there is an International station currently in Ashford, kent.
there's plenty of info at www.ctrl.co.uk
James B :: 11 Mar :: 2004 :: Comment / reply
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it's the tunnel between Higham and Strood on the North Kent line out to Gillingham that's shut for a year - shouldn't affect anything towards Folkestone.
The franchise for Kent trains is up in the air after Connex was sacked - while South Eastern Trains doesn't seem to be doing too bad a job, having a state-run train firm isn't good enough for Labour and the whole thing will be put out to tender again....
www.sra.gov.uk/news/20031222_ikf_bidders_selection.tt2
