London and Continental Railways
Encyclopedia
History
Created at the time of the privatisation of British RailPrivatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
. As part of this deal the European Passenger Services (EPS) and Union Railways sections of British Rail were handed over to LCR as well as key pieces of railway infrastructure including St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
and Manchester International
Manchester International Depot
Manchester International Depot is a train maintenance depot in Manchester, England. It was constructed next to the Longsight depot in the early 1990s as part of a plan to operate Eurostar international train services to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London, known as Regional Eurostar.By...
& North Pole
North Pole depot
North Pole depot was the London depot for Eurostar from 1994 until 2007. It was used for maintaining and stabling the fleet of British Rail Class 373 trains...
depots.
EPS was the British arm of the joint Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
operation, along with SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
and NMBS/SNCB. LCR renamed EPS as Eurostar (U.K.) Ltd.
Eurostar (U.K.) Ltd.
Eurostar International Limited is the operator of the Eurostar service operating between London, Paris and Brussels. It was formed on 1 September 2010 and is owned by London and Continental Railways , NMBS/SNCB and SNCF...
(EUKL). Union Railways had been developing plans for HS1 since before the opening of the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
and continued this role as part of LCR.
The original shareholders of LCR were National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
, Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
, SBC
Swiss Bank Corporation
Swiss Bank Corporation was a large integrated financial services company located in Switzerland...
Warburg, Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
and London Electric. As part of the 1996 contract LCR were to finance and construct the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) themselves, funding it from income received from the Eurostar operation.
In 1998 LCR ran into major financial difficulties and appealed to the UK government for support. It admitted that income from its share of the Eurostar operation was not at the level it expected and would therefore not be able to undertake construction of HS1. At this time the future of the high speed line looked in doubt. See here for more details.
In 2006 LCR put forward a proposal to build a domestic high speed line north of London — see High-speed rail in the United Kingdom
High-speed rail in the United Kingdom
The international definition of high-speed rail embraces new lines with a top speed of at least and existing lines with a top speed of around...
.
Former structure
The structure of LCR was complex due to numerous reorganisations. Shareholders in LCR in 2006 were:- Rail Link Engineering (RLE)
- National Express GroupNational Express GroupNational Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
- SNCFSNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
- EDF EnergyEDF EnergyEDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
- UBSUBS AGUBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland...
The construction of the CTRL/High Speed 1 was project managed for LCR by RLE. Shareholders in RLE were:
- BechtelBechtelBechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
- ArupArupArup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
- SystraSystraSYSTRA is an international engineering and consulting group specializing in rail and public transport. SYSTRA is known worldwide for its work in transport modes that offer a sustainable alternative to cars and trucks...
- HalcrowHalcrow Group LimitedHalcrow Group Limited is an engineering consultancy company, based in the United Kingdom.Halcrow is one of the UK's leading consultancies, with a pedigree stretching back to 1868. The UK-based consultancy specialises in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure...
From 1998, EUKL was run under a management contract by InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), whose shareholders are:
- National Express GroupNational Express GroupNational Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
(40%) - SNCFSNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
(35%) - NMBS/SNCB (15%)
- British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
(10%)
2009 restructure
In June 2009 the Department for TransportDepartment for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
took direct ownership of LCR for a nominal price. This was possible due to the company's dependence on £5·169bn of government-guaranteed debt, and a special share that the Government had giving it a wide range of control over the business. This was part of a process to break up the organisation's current structure and sell off the separate parts as individual companies, thereby removing its monopoly of cross-channel passenger rail services and attempting to recoup some of the large amounts of government money paid to LCR since 1998. With the track and stations in separate ownership, competing services may begin. This is a similar model to that used in the rest of Great Britain and across the EU as per European Union directive 91/440. Maintenance is likely to continue to be contracted to Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
. Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
has already stated its wish to run services from Germany to London and the LCR share in the Eurostar operation is expected to be bought by SNCF, giving the French national rail company the dominant role in the operation. Following this restructuring, LCR becomes simply a property development company with sole rights to the land north of St Pancras station.