Virgin Trains has cleared a key regulatory hurdle in its bid to break Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly on passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, after the Office of Rail and Road granted the company track access for up to 20 daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam starting in 2030.
The regulator’s approval covers the HS1 route from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel and runs from 1 October 2030 to 31 December 2040. The decision marks what the ORR called a significant step forward in introducing competition on a route where Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services since the tunnel opened in 1994.
But the approval is conditional. Virgin still has to secure rolling stock for the services and obtain safety approval from both UK and EU authorities. The ORR’s decision only covers the British side of the route, meaning Virgin also needs to secure access to rail networks in mainland Europe before it can begin carrying passengers.
Martin Jones, the ORR’s deputy director of access and international, said the decision was an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services. “While there is still more work to do, we are supporting Virgin and the wider industry to grow international services,” he said.
Investment and fleet plans
Virgin, which previously ran intercity trains in Britain including between London and Glasgow, has said it plans to invest £700m in its cross-Channel project and create about 400 jobs in the UK. The company is planning to buy 12 high-speed trains from Alstom to operate on the route. A Virgin Group spokesperson said the plans for a new London-Europe rail service from 2030 were moving at pace and welcomed the ORR’s pre-approval of the track access agreement.
The spokesperson said the approval gave Virgin the opportunity to bring competition and its award-winning customer experience to the Channel Tunnel. Sir Richard Branson has previously said it was time to end the 30-year monopoly and bring what he called Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route.
Virgin plans to run services between St Pancras and the same stations in Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam used by Eurostar. The company received a boost last year when the ORR approved its application to share Temple Mills railway depot in east London with Eurostar. Temple Mills is the only depot in the UK able to accommodate the larger trains used in continental Europe and the only depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1, the line that runs between London and the tunnel.
Capacity questions and rival operators
The ORR said the extra services into London St Pancras international station would demand tighter operational coordination but said that should not be a barrier to expansion. The regulator also said the HS1 network should be able to support the substantial additional services provided that operational, contractual, and co-ordination risks are properly controlled. The ORR said increasing competition on the route would provide significant benefits for passengers.
Eurostar, which was formerly part-owned by the UK taxpayer but is now controlled by the French rail operator SNCF, has faced criticism over its high prices and has shrunk its network over the past decade, ditching international services from Ashford and Ebbsfleet in Kent. Eurotunnel, operator of LeShuttle, takes vehicles on the cross-Channel route.
Responding to the ORR’s statement, Eurostar said the decision confirmed the huge potential for growth in international rail and the ambition across the industry to bring more passengers to Europe by train. The company said it would play a full part in that growth and said its focus remained on delivering its own ambitious plans, investing in its fleet and carrying 30 million passengers a year. Last year, Eurostar said it planned to launch direct train services from London to Germany and Switzerland by the early 2030s and announced it would start running doubledecker trains through the tunnel.
Virgin is not the only operator eyeing the cross-Channel route. Italy’s FS Italiane Group is also planning to run services through the Channel Tunnel from 2029 using its subsidiary Trenitalia France. Last week, Trenitalia France signed an agreement for 19 new high-speed trains from Hitachi Rail, which it plans to use on the service. Demand for international rail travel from the UK is growing, with a joint UK-German taskforce considering plans for direct trains from London to Berlin.