Answers: The money wasn't spent just to drain the Eurostar journey time. That's the headline item because the media & tv don't bother to give full reports.
You should read the specialist railway magazine for the full story.
Basically:
The Waterloo terminus was incapable of expansion so further trans-European services could not be accommdated.
St Pancras is able to thieve more trains so more destinations will be on offer contained by due course.
Waterloo is congested so the release of the Eurostar terminal to domestic services will improve the train celebration and punctuality at the station. (Don't be tempted to read aloud "oh yeah", it will make a difference).
The feeble route to Waterloo is not able to adopt trains of the larger European loading guages. Now it is possible for a foreign high-speed train to make its mode direct to London. (More future services again, when they recuperate from the shock of getting this one right).
The Waterloo lines are fed from third guardrail DC power supply. This meant that the Eurostars have to be fitted with retractible 'shoes' for power pick-up as all right as roof-top pantographs. This is an expensive complication for maintenance on the trains. They own now be removed. The low voltage DC also severely restricted the England-side speed.
St Pancras station itself is a Listed Building and needed millions spent on it to stop it becoming dangerous. As this money be going to be spent on the building anyway it made sense to spend relatively little extra and develop the railway station itsef.
The high-speed line immediately goes north of London thus enable future through-freight (some at the enhance loading guage) trains from what's gone of the industrial North to pass direct to Europe.
There's more, but you can see that the money wasn't lately spent to save a few commuters 20 minutes. Even if at hand was a smaller time in your favour most of it would have have to be done anyway.
I thought it was 40 minutes, respectively way.
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