Virgin Trains to rival Eurostar with 20 ‘cheaper’ direct London trains to Europe every day

Ticket prices could drop below the £39 for a Eurostar trip from London and Paris

Virgin Trains has taken a big leap forward in rivalling Eurostar to run trains between London and popular European destinations. Today (Monday, August 17) rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) announced it has granted approval for Sir Richard Branson’s company to run up to 20 new daily return services through the Channel Tunnel.

Virgin Trains will be allowed to operate services between St Pancras and the same stations in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam used by Eurostar from 2030. Sir Richard has previously said there are “ambitions” to expand “further across France, and into Germany and Switzerland” in the future.

The agreement for Virgin Trains to have track access covers the period between October 1, 2030 to December 31, 2040. Sir Richard previously said it was “time to end this 30-year monopoly” that Eurostar has held on passenger services through the Channel Tunnel since it opened in 1994.

A major benefit for passengers could be cheaper tickets as Virgin has expressed on a number of occasions how fares are likely to be competitive, or even cheaper, than current Eurostar tickets which can go for as little as £39 between London and Paris, or even cheaper during sales.

Whilst the prices for Virgin Trains tickets are not clear yet, Sir Richard previously said: “If you have competition, then fares will inevitably come down. If we’ve got seats that need selling, we will reduce the cost of them.”

The new ORR announcement means Virgin Trains has passed another key regulatory hurdle towards starting the international services, after being granted access last October to share Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in East London to maintain and store trains.

Temple Mills is the only depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1, the line that runs between London and the tunnel.

The ORR said the decision to grant track access was “an important next step”, but that there was “still more work to do” before the new services can run.

Deputy director of access and international Martin Jones said: “This is an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services, and we welcome the progress Virgin Trains and London St Pancras High Speed have made.

“While there is still more work to do, we are supporting Virgin and the wider industry to grow international services.”

For example, Virgin Trains must secure access to other rail networks and obtain safety approvals from the ORR and relevant regulators in the EU ahead of the plans to begin running services in 2030.