Channel Tunnel Rail Link section 1: an environmental route Available to Purchase

Environmental considerations were at the heart of the route selection process for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Decisions were seldom clear-cut, but, with section 1 now built and operating, the majority seem to have proved right in environmental terms. With the benefit of ten years' hindsight, this paper reviews the environmental input to route selection and how it worked in practice—particularly the tough choices relating to Ashford, Boxley Valley and Medway.