The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of whether the Airports Commission considered the full potential for increased long distance rail passenger and rail freight movement between the UK and mainland Europe through using the full capacity of the Channel tunnel.
Mr John Hayes
The Airports Commission considered and consulted on a wide range of possible options to make best use of the UK’s existing airports and runways, and proposals for adding new airport capacity in the longer-term.
It received 52 proposals, including propositions involving better high speed rail provision and use of the Channel Tunnel as an alternative to airport expansion. The Commission concluded that the scope for further rail growth on short-haul European routes is limited by some clear constraints, including rail line and tunnel capacity out of the UK – given that there is only one railway link that connects the UK with continental Europe.
The Commission’s assessment was published in its December 2013 Interim Report, which included its conclusion that there was a case for at least one net additional runway in London and the South East by 2030, and a proposed short-list of options.
On 14 December 2015, the Government formally announced that it accepted the case for additional runway capacity in the South-East and agreed with the Airports Commission’s shortlist of options.