Channel tunnel operator preparing for bid
Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel is "looking carefully" at launching a bid for the UK's High Speed 1 (HS1) rail line, reports said today (June 26).
Groupe Eurotunnel is understood to be preparing to bid for the UK's only high speed line, which runs between the Channel tunnel and St Pancras International in London.
The UK government exercised its right to take control of HS1 after it rescued the private companies building the line in 1998.
HS1 was effectively nationalised on June 8 after the government took control from the line's owner London & Continental Railways.
The government is expected to take bids for parts of the HS1 business next year, reports said.
Jacques Gounon, Grope Eurotunnel's executive chairman, told the Financial Times he was looking carefully at the High Speed 1 privatisation.
Should Eurotunnel launch a successful bid, the Channel tunnel and the high speed line linking it to London would be owned by one company.
The 108km-long HS1 line carries trains running at speeds of up to 300kph (186mph), and cost £5.8bn to build.
The Financial Times, citing its own sources, said the line is likely to be sold for £1.5-2.5bn.