High Speed 1
High Speed 1 (HS1) is Britain’s newest and most
exciting railway, linking the Channel Tunnel with London.
Originally known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), it was
fittingly renamed HS1 on
November 14 2007.
Fast, reliable and environmentally friendly, HS1 is shaping the future of rail travel
and Ashford is one of its principal beneficiaries.
- HS1 is currently used
by Eurostar trains, linking St Pancras International with Paris
(2hr 15min) and Brussels (1h51min)
- Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International stations
complement each other as the two major stations along the
HS1 route. Combined they
have resulted in an increase in services for Kent by a third, from
12 to 16 trains a day, strengthening the county’s key position as
the crossroads between the UK and the continent.
- There are regular trains from Ashford to Paris (2h) and Lille
(57min). Connecting services link Ashford to more than 100
destinations throughout Europe, including Disneyland Paris and
French ski resorts
- Via HS1, the UK is now
fully connected to 2,330 miles of the rapidly expanding European
high speed network
What about domestic services on
HS1?
On 14th December 2009, Southeastern launched full domestic
services on HS1. Using the
latest generation Hitachi (bullet-type) trains, Ashford will be one
of the UK’s only towns to benefit from high-speed rail travel.
For more information about the domestic service - CLICK HERE
Travel times to London with the new HS1 service
| Starting From |
New time with CTRL domestic
services |
Previous time |
| Ebbsfleet |
17 mins |
N/A |
| Gravesend |
24 mins |
42 mins |
| Ashford |
37 mins |
88 mins |
| Medway Towns |
43 mins |
47 mins |
| Sittingbourne |
56 mins |
66 mins |
| Faversham |
65 mins |
72 mins |
| Canterbury |
61 mins |
102 mins |
| Folkestone |
63 mins |
98 mins |
| Ramsgate |
84 mins |
119 mins |
| Margate |
98 mins |
109 mins |