UK’s Gemini Trains also wants to compete with Eurostar

After Virgin Trains and Spain’s Evolyn, another candidate has come forward with plans to run passenger trains through the Channel Tunnel: British Gemini Trains.

There is no timescale yet for when Eurostar’s new potential competitor plans to run services between London and continental Europe, particularly Paris and Brussels, although other media are talking about 2029.

Little known about new operator

The company, which has Labour MP and industry expert Lord Berkely as its chairman, announced on its website that it wants to run trains from London to Paris and Brussels. “In the future, we plan to expand our offering to include several new European destinations,” the website says.

Gemini Trains, about whom little else is known, also considers Ebbsfleet station in Kent a possible stop. Eurostar used to stop there but scrapped the stop (like Ashford’s) in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company has asked UK regulator ORR for permission to access the Temple Mills Maintenance depot in East London. However, Eurostar has suggested that “there was no space for a second operator.” It is also being discussed with manufacturers like Alstom and Siemens for train procurement.

“With a whole new generation now choosing trains over planes, there is a great opportunity to bring real entrepreneurial flair and dynamism with competitive fares to Europe’s premier route,” says Gemini CEO Adrian Quine, a former BBC World Service current affairs and business journalist with a strong interest in transport.

Many potential candidates

Currently, Eurostar, partly owned by the Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB, has a monopoly on transporting passengers by train through the Channel Tunnel.

However, several players have indicated in recent years and months that they are exploring the possibilities of train connections between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, Spanish Renfe, Swiss SBB, British businessman Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Spanish initiative Evolyn, and Dutch firm Heurotrain.

Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, said about a year ago that its ambition is to double the number of direct HST connections through the tunnel in the next ten years. The company sees potential in connections between London and cities such as Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Marseille.