London - "To Be Linked To Paris Metro" - London Times 03 Aug

London could be linked to the Paris Metro under an ambitious plan to run international trains on a new €20 billion line that will ring the French capital.
SNCF, the state railway network, says that under the proposed system passengers would be able to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras direct to an underground stop on the new line, dubbed Le Grand Huit (The Big Eight) because it will form a double loop around Paris.
Jean-Pierre Farandou, deputy managing director of the SNCF, said travelers would be able to get from the City to the La Défense business district west of Paris in two and a quarter hours.
“Other possibilities can also be imagined, like La Défense to Lille or La Défense to Brussels,” he said.
The 87-mile (140km) line is part of a plan by President Sarkozy to create a Greater Paris in a bid to break down barriers between the residents of the capital and their often impoverished suburban neighbors. Le Grand Huit will also link airports and new towns around the capital.
The Autonomous Parisian Transport Network (RATP), which runs the underground system, wants trains on the new line to be fully automated and driverless, reaching speeds of 50mph (80kph). The line, which will largely be underground, is scheduled to be completed by 2020.