document: Sarah Talbot-Williams , a spokeswoman for the Confederation of British Industry , Britain 's main employers ' group says , `` 1992 is going to produce a much more competitive market . `` If we do n't have the infrastructure to get the goods to Europe , we 'll continue our status as an island . '' Long plagued by soaring costs and drilling delays , the tunnel now looks set to open on time in June 1993 . British diggers , who once lagged months behind schedule , currently are just one week behind ; their French counterparts are running three months ahead of plan . And although the project 's estimated cost has soared to # 7.66 billion -LRB- $ 13.11 billion -RRB- from # 4.9 billion , tunnel executives have obtained underwriting for an equity rights offer and preliminary agreement for more bank loans to cover the added cost . `` There will be no more talk of crisis , '' says Alastair Morton , chief executive officer of Eurotunnel PLC , the consortium building the cross-channel link . `` The money will be together this year , and the project will be clear from there . '' But the lack of a high-speed rail link to London , and improved service beyond , means Britain may miss out on the tunnel 's total benefits . `` There is a danger of not being able to exploit the tunnel to its full potential , '' says Prof. Christopher Nash , a transport expert at Leeds University in Northern England . The government 's refusal to help fund a fast rail service between London and the tunnel terminal at Folkestone culminates an 18-month squabble . European Rail Link Ltd. , a consortium formed last November to build the rail link , had asked the government to contribute # 350 million towards the total # 2.6 billion cost of the link . Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson told the House of Commons that the consortium 's plans involved `` unacceptable '' risks for taxpayers . He said British Rail , which owns 50 % of the consortium , would consider other options for a fast-rail link . But no one expects a viable scheme anytime soon . Defending the decision , Mrs. Thatcher earlier told Parliament that the government already had earmarked almost # 2 billion for chunnel-related projects , including # 600 million on roads leading to the tunnel and # 1.3 billion in passenger and freight rail services . But that did n't satisfy opposition legislators . `` Britain will enter the 21st century with an inadequate 19th-century railway link , '' said John Prescott , the Labour Party 's transportation spokesman . As a result of Thursday 's decision , the journey time to London from Paris will be about three hours -- 30 minutes longer than with a high-speed rail link . Passengers boarding high-speed trains in Paris will zoom at 180 miles an hour north to Calais , slow to 100 miles an hour through the tunnel , then crawl at an average of 60 miles an hour across southeast England 's crowded commuter belt . `` The traffic will now speed through as far as our side of the tunnel , and then the men with red flags will lead it on to London , '' complains Keith Speed , a Conservative member of Parliament whose constituency is near the tunnel terminal . Eurotunnel insists the tunnel will be financially viable without the high-speed rail link . The tunnel-building consortium argues that only 39 % of its total revenue will come from direct London-to-Paris trains ; the real money-spinner will be freight traffic hauled by road to the tunnel , then loaded onto special Eurotunnel wagons for the journey under the channel . `` We make more money on road traffic using our tunnel , '' Mr. Morton says . `` There is in no sense a feeling we must have that link to make the tunnel successful . '' But Mr. Morton admits he wants to see the high-speed link built , professing it would divert traffic from southeast England 's clogged roads . The high-speed link `` will be a benefit for us , '' he says , `` but essential for the country . '' Some analysts go further , arguing the tunnel indeed needs better rail links if it is to compete with improving ferry and air services . `` A high-speed link which covers -LCB- only -RCB- part of the route proves to be fairly uncompetitive with other transportation modes , '' says Bill Steinmetz , vice president of transport for consultants Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. in London . `` If you 're going to build high-speed rail , you have to decide how to provide complete links . It 's like having part of a house built . It may function , but you do worry about it . '' The worries do n't end in London . North of the capital , industrialists fear poor railway links will isolate them on the fringes of the European Community 's single market . `` The Channel Tunnel is a marvelous addition to the infrastructure , '' says David Merrill , corporate-affairs director at Pilkington PLC , the big glass maker based in St. Helens in Northwest England . But `` it 's important that the quality of the rail network and capacity is improved . I do n't think there 's any time to lose . ''
extractive_keyphrases: total benefits single market channel tunnel added cost fast rail service refusal
abstractive_keyphrases: cross-channel link high-speed rail link