All Change at Ashford - Eurostar Meets Historic Hand-Operated Gates

In March 2001 at Ashford, the sight of high-speed Eurostar trains passing hand-operated wooden gates, created a striking contrast of old and new. This unusual scene was part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) construction, now known as High Speed 1 (HS1), which was upgrading or removing manual level crossings to accommodate the new line.
Section 1 of the CTRL, a 15.2 km stretch through Ashford connecting the Channel Tunnel to London, was then under construction. The hand-operated gates highlighted the stark difference between traditional railway infrastructure and the cutting-edge Eurostar trains.
Significant upgrades were underway, including the installation of the UK’s largest single-span footbridge at the time, spanning eleven tracks west of Ashford station. Manual crossings were phased out to meet the safety and operational demands of high-speed rail, replaced by grade-separated bridges and tunnels to prevent conflicts with road and pedestrian traffic.
For a brief moment, Ashford offered a memorable glimpse of Britain’s railway past intersecting with the high-speed future during a major transformation of the rail network.