Eurostar rival unveils new London to Paris routes ready by 2029

For three decades Eurostar has held a monopoly in running passenger train services through the Channel Tunnel since it opened in 1994.

Now Italy’s national state-owned railway company has announced plans to change all that.

FS Italiane Group will be launching a new high-speed rail service connecting Paris and London by 2029 – and is also considering further extensions of the route to Lille, Lyon, Marseilles and Milan, as well as Ashford in Kent.

The Group’s plans are part of a broader goal to build a more integrated and connected European rail network, for which the firm has invested €1 billion.

FS Italiane Group has been operating in France since 2021 and has a strong presence in the UK through c2c and Avanti West Coast, serving over three million passengers and strengthening its foundation for this new international service. 

With permits already in place in France and ongoing work with key stakeholders to meet regulatory requirements, the Group is also planning for additional capacity at London St. Pancras station and exploring funding options to support the project.

Commenting on the news, Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, FS Group Chief Executive Officer and General Manager stated: ‘This investment is a decisive step forward in FS Group’s vision of building a more integrated, competitive and sustainable European rail network, in line with the objectives of the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, which places an increasing focus on passenger transport abroad to accelerate FS Group’s international development.

‘High-speed rail networks are the backbone of efficient and environmentally friendly mobility, and by expanding our presence on key corridors, we are not just investing in infrastructure and innovation, but also in the future of European transport. 

FS Italiane Group will be launching a new high-speed rail service connecting Paris and London by 2029 – and is also considering further extensions of the route to Lille, Lyon, Marseilles and Milan, as well as Ashford in Kent

The Group’s plans are part of a broader goal to build a more integrated and connected European rail network, for which the firm has invested €1 billion. Pictured is Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, FS Group Chief Executive Officer and General Manager

‘More competition will help to create a more efficient and customer-oriented industry, offering a real alternative to air travel.’

FS Italiane Group is now one of six companies bidding to compete with Eurostar amid hopes the UK could eventually get direct services to Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Last month, Gemini Trains unveiled proposals to operate trains connecting London with Paris and Brussels.

The firm, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley, also listed Ebbsfleet in Kent as one of its possible stations – after Eurostar stopped calling there in March 2020.

Gemini, which said it hoped to offer ‘economy and business seats at a competitive price to Eurostar’, added that ‘further exciting destinations’ are ‘being developed’.

Spanish start-up company Evolyn and billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group are also developing proposals to launch services to rival Eurostar.

Swiss national railways (SBB) is working on a new five-hour service between St Pancras and Basel, while Dutch start-up Heuro also hopes to launch a rival service.

Gemini said it has been developing plans to launch international services over the last two years, and has been ‘engaging extensively with industry stakeholders’.

A Eurostar e320 high-speed train heading towards France through Ashford in Kent in 2021

Passengers at London St Pancras on March 7 after Eurostar trains to the capital were halted following the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near the tracks in Paris

Gemini Trains says it wants to operate trains connecting London with Paris and Brussels

It added that it has submitted an application to regulator the Office of Rail and Road for access to Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot in Leyton, East London.

Reacting to the news, France-based independent railway policy analyst Jon Worth wrote in The i Paper : ‘The appeal of more long-distance trains through the Channel Tunnel is obvious.

‘Even now, 30 years after the opening of the tunnel, long-distance high-speed traffic is below forecasts from the 1990s.

‘And the dent the Covid pandemic put in Eurostar’s finances has led to a reduction in services and a hike in prices for tickets with the monopoly operator.

‘So, it is no surprise that entrepreneurs look at long distance traffic through the Channel Tunnel, and in particular the connection between western Europe’s two largest cities, Paris and London, and see opportunities. There should be money to be made challenging the sole incumbent that may have become a little complacent over the years.’

But he pointed out there are ‘massive’ hurdles including buying a fleet of trains; the cost and complexity of building passport control facilities for services into Europe; and a continuing battle over whether a rival to Eurostar will be able to access Temple Mills Depot.

Thomas Wintle, editor of RailTech.com, added that Gemini may have an ‘edge over its competitors’.

He wrote: ‘Berkeley’s colleagues – he himself is a long-serving Labour peer and highly influential in UK rail policy, having served on multiple parliamentary transport committees – has strong connections to Whitehall and Westminster, and may be able to open up regulatory hurdles in a way that Gemini’s competitors could struggle with.

Train schedules are displayed on the monitor by the Eurostar departure gates at St Pancras

Gemini Trains said it has submitted an application to regulator the Office of Rail and Road for access to Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot in Leyton, East London (pictured in 2021)

Passengers at St Pancras station in London, which Eurostar trains have served since 2007

‘That’s despite Virgin and Evolyn launching their applications before the new company. 

‘Indeed, the Gemini team is impressive in terms of its rail background; it includes the ex-CEO of CAF France and EuRailCo; a former partner of an economic consultancy that directly advised the UK’s Department for Transport, European rail authorities, and the ORR on rail access charging, competition policy, and regulatory strategy; the former CFO of Great North Eastern Railway; Eurostar’s former Head of Distribution; and a CEO who happens to be a former BBC journalist.’

Eurostar has run passenger services through the Channel Tunnel since it was officially opened on May 6, 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II and France’s then-president Francois Mitterrand.

The operator initially ran services to and from London Waterloo before switching to St Pancras when this was extensively refurbished in 2007.

Eurostar now runs from St Pancras to Lille non-stop and then onto Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam via Rotterdam.

It also has connecting Eurostar services from Brussels to Dortmund via Cologne and Dusseldorf; and the winter ‘Snow Train’ from Lille to Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

But it dropped direct services between London and Disneyland Paris in June 2023, and no longer operates trains between London and the south of France.

Eurostar also stopped calling at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International in March 2020 when the pandemic began – and despite local pressure in Kent for services to resume, the company has said it is focusing on its core routes.

Ebbsfleet International station opened in 2007 for Eurostar trains but they stopped in 2020

Eurostar staff wave off their first train to Paris at London St Pancras on November 14, 2007

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh travelling on the Eurostar train on May 7, 1994

Stratford International in East London is also on the route having opened in 2009, but has never been used by Eurostar and only serves Southeastern trains on the High Speed 1 route to Kent.

But the tunnel’s French owner, Getlink, and London St Pancras Highspeed, which owns the station in the capital and the high-speed tracks to the tunnel, last month signed a memorandum of understanding to commit to expanding rail connectivity.

London St Pancras Highspeed said it wants to encourage ‘new and existing train operators’ to open new routes and boost the capacity of the London station.

It set out its ambition to increase the capacity for cross-Channel travel at St Pancras from 1,800 passengers per hour to nearly 5,000 passengers per hour.