Earlier this week, rail startup and Eurostar rival Evolyn agreed to purchase 12 trains from French train manufacturer, Alstom. This could mark the first time that a cross-Channel rail company has entered the market for 30 years – the only other one being the Eurostar, of course.
Evolyn told Reuters: “It would be the first time, after 30 years of Eurostar’s monopoly, that a competitor has entered the market.”
According to reports, trains are set to take passengers between London’s St Pancras International and Paris’s Gare du Nord. Trains are expected to start running in 2025, with aims to have the service in full operation in 2026. The company told Railway Gazette International that services would initially just run non-stop to the French capital, with stops in northern France possibly considered in the future. They said no additional routes were being planned at this stage.
Getlink, who operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel, said in a statement on Wednesday (October 11): “The announcement by Evolyn confirms the growth potential of the cross-Channel passenger rail market.
“The Tunnel and the rail networks that connect to it are designed to carry more than 20 million high-speed passengers across the Channel each year, almost double the current level.”
The announcement of this £1bn project follows the news that Eurostar’s popular route between London and the Netherlands could be suspended for up to a year starting next summer, due to engineering works in the Dutch capital.