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France finally clears Charles-de-Gaulle airport rail link

France on Friday said it will build a high-speed rail link between central Paris and the Charles-de-Gaulle airport, ending decades of fruitless discussion on easing access to Europe's second-biggest airport.

Published: 19 February 2016 14:14 CET

France finally clears Charles-de-Gaulle airport rail link

Photo: AFP

The “CDG Express” is to be completed by 2023, the government said in an announcement in the Official Journal, on a budget of 1.6 billion euros ($1.77 billion).

The only current rail link to the airport, second in Europe only to London's Heathrow hub, is the “RER B” line, which doubles up as one of the French capital's busiest commuter services.

Photo: Ministry of Ecology

Passengers regularly complain about crowded trains with little room for luggage, too many stops, ageing carriages and a lack of security on the suburban line that runs through some of the Paris's poorest outskirts.

An earlier attempt at getting the CDG Express project going in 2006 was abandoned because of building challenges and political infighting.

The express will connect the Gare de l'Est directly with the airport in under 20 minutes' journey time. They are expected to depart every 15 minutes and provide “absolute punctuality”.

Travel in Europe: UK to scrap all Covid travel rules

Testing is no longer required for vaccinated travellers, but the UK government has announced that it will scrap all Covid-19 travel rules on Friday, March 18th.

“As one of the first major economies to remove all its remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions, this is a landmark moment for passengers and the travel and aviation sector,” said the Government in a press release.

From 4am on March 18th:

Passengers going to the UK will no longer be required to fill out a Passenger Locator Form before travel;
Passengers who are not vaccinated will not be required to take a pre-departure Covid test, or a Day 2 test following arrival. Fully vaccinated travellers are already exempt from having to do this;
Hotel quarantine for travellers coming from ‘red list’ countries, of which there are currently none, will also be scrapped by the end of the month.

“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants, and keep a reserve of measures which can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe,” said UK Health Minister Sajid Javid.

The UK has lifted all Covid-related rules including mask rules and mandatory self-isolation if you test positive for Covid.

Some European countries still have Covid restrictions in place for unvaccinated people coming from the UK.

Until March 18th

Until the new rules come into effect, all travellers are required to fill out a passenger locator form.

Unvaccinated travellers are also required to take pre-departure test and a test on or before Day 2 following their arrival.

The UK border officers will recognise proof of vaccination provided with an EU Covid Certificate.

For the UK “fully vaccinated” means 14 days after your final dose of a EMA/FDA or Swiss approved vaccine (Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson).

After a period of confusion, the UK government says that it will accept mixed doses administered in the EU (eg one dose of AstraZeneca and one of Pfizer).

However people who have only had a single dose after previously recovering from Covid – which is standard practice in some European countries – are not accepted as vaccinated by the UK.

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