This week has seen several reports that the Virgin Group is readying itself to order £500 million of trains as part of its bid to break Eurostar’s monopoly on cross-channel passenger services.
‘Project Bullet’
Under the codename Project Bullet, Virgin has been raising funds from investors so that they can services in 2029.
It has been suggested that a contract for up to a dozen high speed trains could be signed in the next few months of 2025.
‘We are very excited about getting back into rail’, said Phil Whittingham, Virgin’s Project Lead.
Getlink, the company which operates the tunnel, believes the point of competition is closer than ever. A new company, Evolyn, has also announced interest in the route.
‘At the turning point’
Speaking to the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group at the House of Commons in November, Getlink CEO Yann Leriche said ‘we are at the turning point’, due to increasing demand and the simplification of track access rights.
Capacity through the Channel Tunnel is not a problem as it can handle much more than the current level.
London St Pancras is available to any train operator, although a stumbling block to any possible competitor to Eurostar is caused by access to the Temple Mills train maintenance depot in east London – the only facility in the UK designed for use by international rail services.
The Office of Rail and Road is due to complete an assessment later this month on whether Temple Mills can handle the required number of new high-speed trains such competition would provide.