Eurostar’s future double-decker trains are set to offer a two-storey cocktail bar, according to a new tease from the rail operator that aims to grab the passenger imagination amid growing rivalry for trans-Channel traffic.
Announced in autumn 2025, the all-electric Eurostar Celestia fleet, on order for €2 billion from Alstom, should make its debut by 2031, marking the first time double-decker trains will be experienced on British soil (apart from a limited, experimental service that ran from 1949 until the early 1970s).
@traintakes New double decker Eurostar trains! But what happens to the classic sets? #Eurostar #Trains #Railways #news #travel ♬ Double-Decker Bus – Count Five
The new stock will provide 20% more seating, a lower floor to keep the trains within the height constraints of the Channel Tunnel and high-speed tracks, and, the firm boasted during this summer’s heatwaves, will be future proofed with air conditioning for temperatures of up to 55°C.
Cocktails can also keep you cool (though, of course, alcohol should be consumed in moderation particularly in hot weather!), and the bars on the new trains may be more intriguing to some passengers than the intricacies of an air conditioning system. The two-storey affair will have “a different ambience and vibe upstairs and downstairs, making the most of the double-decker views,” a Eurostar spokesperson said, describing the design as a “star attraction of the bespoke train” and “something really special for customers.” Not so special, though, that access can be called exclusive since, unlike Eurostar’s elite passenger lounges in stations, the Celestia cocktail bars will be open to all travellers.
Still, the bars will have to be something special to compete with the arrival of long-awaited new competitors in a Eurotunnel market that has been dominated by a de facto Eurostar monopoly for three decades. Virgin Trains gained Office of Rail and Road approval for its proposed Channel tunnel services back in August 2026. With up to 20 return services slated a day between London St Pancras, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, the Channel Tunnel offer could look very different by 2030.
What’s more, Italian state rail operator Trenitalia is expecting to run 10 return services daily, having already invested €2 billion in the necessary new rolling stock from Hitachi, plus an €80 million depot under development south of Paris, where the firm will overnight its trains to avoid fierce competition for fleet storage at London’s Temple Mills facility. In fact, train expert Mark Smith, aka The Man in Seat 61, told POLITICO: “Trenitalia are in pole position with a 2029 start date.”
