"THE Channel Tunnel high speed rail link is carrying only two thirds of the international passenger numbers that were originally forecast, a spending watchdog says today. The £6.16 billion cost of the London to Folkestone HS1 line has exceeded the value of journey-time savings, according to the National Audit Office report. The line was built on the basis of 'hugely optimistic assumptions' about passenger figures when the government guaranteed the project debt in 1998, the report added. Plans for the second phase of the HS2 high speed rail project, which could include options for stations at Heathrow airport, will be published in the autumn, transport secretary Justine Greening said yesterday.
