December 5, 2000 11:02: PROGRESS is being made on the high-speed Channel tunnel line which will stop at Ebbsfleet in 2006.

Union Railways, which is responsible for the project, says section one of the project, which will see the journey time from London Waterloo to Paris reduced by 20 minutes, is well on target.

The railway company recently applied for planning permission to re-align 320m of track near Springhead Road, in Northfleet.

Work on section one started in October 1998 and is expected to be completed in the middle of 2003.

Section two of the project, which will see an international station built at Ebbsfleet, will start in July 2001 and be completed at the end of 2006.

Once the whole project has been finished, the journey time from London to Paris will be halved.