A new railway start-up has confirmed that it intends to go into competition with Eurostar and run high speed trains from London to Paris and beyond.
Chaired by the public transport veteran Lord Berkeley, Gemini Trains has submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road for a train operator’s licence and to be given access to the railways on the route through the Channel Tunnel.
Plans to utilise Ebbsfleet in Kent
Although Gemini are only proposing to operate with a fleet of ten trains (Eurostar have over fifty), the most notable aspect of the bid is that they plan to use Kent’s Ebbsfleet station, which has not been used by Eurostar since before the pandemic. There is parking for 5000 cars at Ebbsfleet.
Gemini Trains is headed by Adrian Quine, who recently founded a bespoke daily rail service between Settle to Carlisle in the north-west.
Uber partnership
Uber will co-brand the service, as well as offer passengers the opportunity to book tickets through the Uber app. Gemini Trains will be fully responsible for operating the train service, which is intended to run between London, Paris and Brussels through the Channel Tunnel.
Third bid to compete with Eurostar
This is not the only bid to compete with Eurostar on the table as it joins Virgin Trains and Spanish company Evolyn as potential competitors.
A spokesman said:
“Gemini Trains understands the growing demand for long-distance rail travel and recognises rail competition is expanding significantly in Europe.”
“We believe there is a significant opportunity for a dynamic and innovative operator offering mixed ‘economy’ and ‘business’ seats at a competitive price to Eurostar.”
Listen to Iain’s interview with Mark Smith – The Man in Seat 61 to find out what he thinks about a possible competitor to Eurostar
233: Mark Smith, ‘The Man in Seat 61’, on train travel to the Alps
