Virgin orders 12 new high-speed trains in biggest challenge to Eurostar yet

Virgin has cranked up its game in the race to end Eurostar’s decades-long monopoly of Channel Tunnel rail services.

Sir Richard Branson’s company has signed a deal for 12 high-speed Avelia Stream trains with Alstom, the French train manufacturer.

Virgin will use the rolling stock for journeys from the UK to mainland Europe by 2030, if it secures a sought-after deal to run services through the Channel Tunnel.

The plan was revealed in the company’s submission to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for permission to run services on HS1, the high-speed line from London St Pancras to Kent and on through the Tunnel.

According to these documents, Virgin wants to launch routes in the next five years, with trains from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, with potential for additional destinations in Germany and Switzerland.

If successful, this would put Branson’s brand in direct competition with Eurostar.

The submission, which suggests that Virgin is the only applicant that has secured funding and trains, is the first significant challenge to Eurostar’s dominance of the Channel Tunnel since it began operating in 1994.

Virgin first announced plans to take on Eurostar in January.

Then in March, a spokesperson said there were ‘no more major hurdles to overcome’ in its bid to offer an alternative for travellers.

This came after the ORR confirmed that Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot could be used by other operators.

The depot, where trains are maintained and stored, is crucial for other operators to compete.

Alongside improving choice for passengers, Metro understands that Virgin’s aim is to inject some joy into their journey across the Channel, which suggests the onboard experience itself will be a priority for the firm.

In an effort to win over Eurostar customers, they’ll also be sweetening the pot, with bookings connected to its Group-wide rewards programme, Virgin Red.

But Branson’s iconic brand is not the only one with ambitions.

In April, a new potential rival emerged in the form of Italy’s national state-owned railway company.

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS Group) said it will launch a new high-speed rail service between London and Paris by 2029 that would compete with Eurostar.

The group, which is a co-owner of Avanti West Coast, could extend the route to Marseilles, Lyon and Milan, and is also looking at a possible reopening of Ashford International in Kent.

Eurostar stopped calling at the station March 2020 due to Covid.

Gemini Trains has also confirmed plans to launch a fleet of 10 trains from the UK to Europe.

Other players include London St Pancras High Speed (which recently rebranded from HS1) and Spanish start-up Evolyn.

Fares on the rail link between the UK and France have soared since the pandemic, but all of this moving and shaking suggests passengers can soon look forward to a change in the game.

‘Any competition is good competition, and a new player would obviously help to bring rail fares down,’ Zoe Adjey, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of East London, previously told Metro.

She says it’s high time that the UK levels up its rail services, both at home and abroad.

‘When you think back 30 years ago when we first got Eurostar at Waterloo, you should have been able to move to Manchester at the same speed – that never happened,’ she notes.

‘The rail industry hasn’t done what they were supposed to be doing.’