Central Railway’s application to construct a new railway from the Midlands to the Channel Tunnel is to be referred to Parliament, John Watts, Minister for Railways and Roads, has announced.
According to Mr Watts, the proposal is “clearly of national significance”. Under section nine of the Transport and Works Act, Parliament will decide whether the project receives detailed consideration at a public local inquiry. This will be the first application under the Act where this Parliamentary procedure will be used.
The project, for a freight railway from Lutterworth, Leicestershire to the Channel Tunnel, would reinstate part of the old Great Central Railway line. Part of the Chiltern Line would also be acquired. In addition, a six mile tunnel from Olympia in west London to Streatham in south London is proposed along with another tunnel through the North Downs. Freight terminals are planned for sites at the M1/M6 interchange in the Midlands and the M40/M25 interchange in Buckinghamshire.
Parliamentary debate can take place eight weeks after the application is published in the London Gazette. The notice appeared on May 24. If either house rejects the resolution, the aplication will fail.
EGi News 29/05/96
