 The earliest attempt to build a railway line dedicated for operation at the higher speeds was the Great Central Main Line, opened by the Great Central Railway (GCR) in 1899.This line was an ambitious project led by railway entrepreneur Sir Edward Watkin who envisaged a Liverpool-Paris route crossing from Britain to France via a proposed channel tunnel.Although the tunnel scheme was not realised by this railway company, the route operated services between and via , with the dedicated express track beginning at in Nottinghamshire.