Need to know
The operator has been given approval to run up to 20 trains per day from London to mainland Europe
Richard Branson’s company has been granted approval to run train services through the tunnel(Image: Bloomberg, Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Need to know: Virgin trains set to challenge Eurostar with new services through the channel tunnel
- Virgin Trains has received approval from rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road to operate up to 20 new daily return services through the Channel Tunnel from 2030.
- The services will run between St Pancras and the same European destinations used by Eurostar – Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Sir Richard Branson’s company has been granted track access for a ten-year period until December 2040.
- Sir Richard previously said it was “time to end this 30-year monopoly” that Eurostar has held since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994. He has expressed “ambitions” to expand services “further across France, and into Germany and Switzerland” in future.
- Passengers could benefit from cheaper fares as Virgin has indicated tickets will be competitive with current Eurostar prices. “If you have competition, then fares will inevitably come down,” Sir Richard said previously.
- The approval follows Virgin gaining access to Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in East London last October. This is the only maintenance facility accessible from High Speed 1, the line connecting London to the tunnel.
- Virgin still needs to secure access to other rail networks and obtain safety approvals before services can begin.
- The move represents a significant challenge to Eurostar’s long-standing dominance of cross-Channel passenger rail services.
- It also comes as a further rival operator, Gemini Trains, announced its plans to utilise the tunnel to run up to 11 services each day between Stratford International and Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Cologne by 2030.
- READ THE FULL STORY: Virgin Trains to rival Eurostar with 20 ‘cheaper’ direct London trains to Europe every day
.jpeg?trim=60,0,60,0&auto=webp&quality=75&width=1200 "Revealed: How three Iran-backed ‘terror masterminds plotted multiple attacks’ on London")
