COMMUTERS will travel on the UK’s first domestic high-speed rail service today – but will pay extra for the privilege.
The first commercial journey of the 140mph Japanese “javelin” trains will take passengers from Ashford, in Kent, to London’s St Pancras station in just 37 minutes, compared with a normal time of one hour 20 minutes.
But the Southeastern rail company is raising the Ashford-London single fare from the normal £22.20 to £26.60 for those travelling on the Class 395 train.
Single fares between Ebbsfleet and London are also going up – from £9.10 to £12.20. Destinations currently more than an hour and a half away from London by train will now be much nearer in time, with Canterbury 59 minutes away and Folkestone 57 minutes.
The preview version of the high-speed service will involve a limited service on weekdays before the full service begins on December 13.
In 2012, the trains will be used for the Olympic javelin service to whisk spectators from St Pancras to the site of the Games at Stratford in just seven minutes.
