LOC19:11
16:11 GMT
LONDON, March 4 (KUNA) -- The British government has announced the sale of its full stake in Eurostar, the high-speed rail service that connects London with Paris and Brussels through a tunnel under the English Channel, at the value of 757 million pounds (USD 1.1 billion).
The Treasury said in a release Wednesday that a British-Canadian consortium agreed to buy the government's 40-percent stake in Eurostar.
The national railways of France and Belgium, SNCF and SNCB have the remaining stake in the rail service.
Treasury chief George Osborne said the deal announced Wednesday was "a fantastic deal for U.K. taxpayers that exceeds expectations."
The sale is part of the government's plan to sell off some 20 billion pounds in assets by 2020 and the proceeds will be used to reduce the national debt, he added.
Eurostar began services in 1994 and has ever since carried 150 million passengers. (end)
mrn.mt