Local and regional implications of trans-European transport networks: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link

Trans-European transport networks in the European Union have been based on plans submitted by the member states, in most cases already existing plans. One of the largest elements is the planned North European High Speed Rail Network (Paris - Brussels - Koln Amsterdam- London). This involves five member states, of which one, France, has completed its contribution. Part of the Belgian contribution is under construction, and agreement has been reached on the northern and eastern extensions beyond Brussels. In the United Kingdom the contribution is the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The planning has already taken nearly ten years and has involved conflicts over route choice, station location choice, environmental issues, and detailed local planning. These include vertical conflicts between national, regional, and local governments and horizontal conflicts between regional and local governments. As it is an international link there are both vertical (EU) and horizontal (inter-national government and inter-local government) issues to be resolved. In this paper we provide a detailed analysis of the issues and the procedures used to resolve identified conflicts and attempt an evaluation of the current procedure for assessing projects of this type.