The options for travelling from the UK to the Alps without flying could be about to get a whole lot more attractive.
Virgin Trains has taken a major step towards launching services through the Channel Tunnel, with the UK rail regulator giving the company approval to use High Speed 1 between London St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel from 2030.
Lower prices for train travellers?
The plans could see up to twenty daily return services linking London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
It would break Eurostar’s monopoly on passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, which has been in place since the tunnel opened in 1994.
And for skiers, more competition is good news, as competition typically leads to lower prices.
One of the limiters preventing more people from choosing the train over flying is the cost. In addition, more services will make connecting to trains to the Alps or Pyrenees easier.
Paris is the best gateway for the French and Swiss Alps, but Brussels and Amsterdam are also great for connecting on to routes to Austria via the OBB Nightjet service, and from this winter, via Zurich to Italy on the new European Sleeper service.
Services from 2030?
Virgin is planning to invest around £700 million in its international rail operation and has already secured access to the Temple Mills depot in east London, where its trains can be maintained.
The company plans to use 12 trains and says it could create around four hundred UK jobs.
The proposed agreement would allow services from October 2030, although Virgin needs access to the Channel Tunnel itself and to the rail networks in continental Europe.
