Almost 5000 international passengers per hour could be passing through London St Pancras, if plans to introduce new direct train routes to France, Germany and Switzerland go ahead. What’s more, the nearly 180% increase, up from the current 1,800 passengers per hour, would see today’s sole Channel Tunnel train company, Eurostar, lose its monopoly.
London St Pancras Highspeed, the owner of St Pancras and operator of the track to Folkestone on the UK’s south coast, has already signed an expansion agreement with Getlink, the manager and operator of the Channel Tunnel infrastructure which earns revenue on trains through the tunnel and operates LeShuttle.
London to a range of European cities within six hours
Though no timeline has yet been confirmed for expanded services, the aim of the Memorandum of Understanding is to “accelerate the growth of cross-Channel high-speed rail, marking a pivotal step towards transforming sustainable and efficient international travel between the UK and Europe,” a Getlink press release said.
Part of the aim is to be “really competitive with short-haul air travel”, a spokesperson for London St Pancras Highspeed said, noting that “many European cities could be reached directly by train in under six hours.”
Those cities, according to Getlink, could include Bordeaux and Marseille in France, Cologne and Frankfurt in Germany, and Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland. Yann Leriche, chief executive of Getlink, which owns Eurotunnel, said: “We are keen to drive forward attractive opportunities for low-carbon mobility with a range of new destinations.”
“Unlocking the potential of a fully connected Europe”
Eurostar is at present the sole operator of Channel Tunnel with routes to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. In a context where European long-distance and overnight trains are popular and multiplying, Eurostar has been criticised for dropping stops at Ashford in the UK, as well as for abandoning its London and Disneyland Paris route in June 2023. It also no longer runs from London to the south of France. However the firm has purchased 50 new trains and CEO Gwendoline Cazenave has said the fleet expansion is a precursor to new routes.
Robert Sinclair, chief executive of London St Pancras Highspeed, has acknowledged that demand for international train travel is on the up and said the firm’s aim is “to encourage new and existing train operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations unlocking the potential of a fully connected Europe”.
Evolyn, Heuro and Virgin are three companies that have been linked to the Channel Tunnel’s possible expanded offer.
