Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Act 2008

The aim of the Bill is to clarify the legislation and regulations on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. This comes ahead of a restructuring of London & Continental Railways, who won the bid to construct the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in February 1996.

In January 1998, the then Deputy Prime Minister announced that London & Continental Railways had failed to find the necessary money for the project. On 3 June he announced its rescue: a public private partnership was set up and a new management team put in place.

Clause 1 of this Bill is of primary importance as it confirms that the Secretary of State is empowered to fund the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the trains that run on it.

Key areas

• Amends the railway track access agreements set out in the original Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996
• Repeals certain duties of the Office of Rail Regulation
• Allows the Office of Rail Regulation to charge a fee for carrying out its regulatory functions in relation to Channel Tunnel
• Amends the definition of the agreement to develop the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in the 1996 Act to include the word 'operation'.