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Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill

My Lords, two or three questions were asked, and if the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, will let me I will reply to those; I suspect that his interruption might have been on them. He asked about the prices charged for stations. There is to be no charge, to incentivise operators to stop at stations. He suggested that access charges could become unaffordable. The Government intend to cap access charges at a level affordable to new entrants into the market. The analysis behind the level of access charge is based on the principle of affordability. The noble Lord also raised an issue about the Channel Tunnel and charges. We are setting charges now, with the benefit of more understanding of the market for international services than was available 20 years ago when Eurotunnel first raised debt. Eurotunnel now has the benefit of a 50 year-plus contract, giving guaranteed usage levels and charges for freight and passenger services. There is no equivalent long-term contract benefiting High Speed 1. I hope that I have covered his points.