London greenlights Eurostar competition

“Eurostar’s London depot could accommodate additional trains if necessary.” With a simple phrase, British rail regulator ORR has cleared the way for more Eurostar competition.

Virgin, the group around British billionaire Richard Branson interested in operating a train link between London and continental Europe, said that it welcomed the “green light for competition.”

Battle for the passengers

Last year, a record 19.5 million customers traveled on Eurostar, 850,000 more than in 2023. But with ticket prices of more than 350 euros for a return London-Paris during rush hour or on key departure days, travelers have long been waiting for some more keen competition for monopolist Eurostar with the hope of lower prices for traveling through the Channel Tunnel.

Since Eurostar’s launch in 1994, several carriers have already announced plans to compete with Eurostar. Still, none of these plans have materialized to date, in part because Eurostar ‘blocked’ the use of the Temple Mills depot in east London. In the past, Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, also announced that it wanted to attract new rail operators.

More capacity is possible, but additional investment is needed

According to Eurostar, the facility, the only one in the United Kingdom capable of accommodating European-type trains, is complete, and no additional capacity for additional trains can be created.

However, that contention is refuted in a new report on depot capacity by consultants IPEX commissioned by the British regulator Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

However, ORR does specify that “it would be necessary to change the depot’s operating and maintenance methods,” as well as its infrastructure, “to increase capacity and park/maintain a greater number of trains there.” Read: with additional investment, it should be possible to increase capacity.

Room for 4 to 8 extra sets

In the rapport, IPEX says that the maximum depot capacity without activity restrictions is 15 sets. There is room for another four to eight sets, rising to nine if a decommissioned Class 373 set is removed.

Eurostar has 25 sets at Temple Mills, but they are maintained at Le Landy in Paris and Forest in Brussels; only six to ten sets are there over a typical 24-hour period.

Following the report’s publication, stakeholders are asked to provide evidence they believe would support or change ORR’s initial findings. Stakeholders have until April 28th to submit their evidence, and ORR’s conclusions will be published after the regulator has considered their responses.

‘Not sufficient’

In addition to Virgin, Spanish company Evolyn and Dutch company Heuro, among others, have expressed interest in competing with Eurostar. In a response, Eurostar revealed that the Temple Mills depot “is indeed almost full today because major maintenance and investment is needed.”

It further stressed that “the options presented in the report may help create some additional capacity, but it would not be sufficient to achieve the stated ambition of any operator.” Eurostar’s ambition is to grow to 30 million passengers annually by 2030.