Train companies looking to launch services between the UK and Europe are set to benefit from reduced UK operating costs on highspeed lines from London to the Channel Tunnel, but it’s not yet clear whether the savings will be passed on to rail passengers.
London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), the rail and station owner-operator on the lines in question, has said it will offer “significant financial incentives” for firms planning new cross-Channel routes.
A three-year scheme to expand services
Discounts of up to 50% will apply for the first year of new services from the end of May 2025. They form what Robert Sinclair, LSPH’s chief executive has hailed as a “groundbreaking proposal” that will enable operators “to expand their services, increase the network of destinations they serve and invest in new rolling stock.”
The International Growth Incentive Scheme will continue beyond that first year, giving 40% off the Investment Recovery Charge (IRC) in year two and 30% off in year three. What’s more, the more the lines between the capital and England’s south coast are used, the lower the track charges can be, and there will be a £1-per-passenger incentive to grow capacity.
Virgin, Gemini and Evolyn poised to enter trans-European market
The announcement follows the revelation a month ago of a Virgin project to raise £700 million (over €816 million) to compete with current sole operator Eurostar on services connecting London with Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Virgin declared at the end of March 2025 that there are “no more major hurdles” preventing it from entering the trans-European market after the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) confirmed there is now maintenance shed capacity at Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot.
UK startup Gemini Trains also wants to “change the face of European rail travel” and has “routes planned between the UK, France and Belgium” as well as further future destinations across the continent. In addition, Spain’s Evolyn has purchased at least a dozen Alstom trains in readiness for UK-Europe services from 2026.
Eurostar wants to “enhance customer experience”
Eurostar is not taking the competition lying down, however. A spokesperson said it has a “new fleet of 50 trains coming” and “bold ambitions to grow to 30 million customers.” It too could benefit from the LSPH incentives for new services which “give us the financial headroom to make critical investments to enhance the customer experience,” the representative added.
If other companies follow Eurostar’s example, using the operational discounts to subsidise capital expenditure, rather than passing lower prices on to passengers’ wallets, train tickets between the UK and Europe could remain prohibitive. Services run at only 50% capacity at present and Eurostar was criticised in a December 2024 report by Transport and Environment (T&E) for tickets slammed as “nearly twice the average price (€/km) of train tickets across Europe.”
Nonetheless, the introduction of more competition on UK-Europe might drive prices down, bringing more customers to rail and reducing the carbon footprint of trans-European travel compared to aviation by up to 96%, helping to achieve national emissions reduction targets.
