Hot on the heels of the Office of Rail and Road giving Virgin Trains the green light to start using St Pancras International station (and the tracks that run between there and the Channel Tunnel), I come bearing yet another piece of noteworthy news from world of cross-channel train travel.
Plans are officially in the pipeline for Virgin to start giving Eurostar (and its 30 year monopoly over the Channel Tunnel) a bit of a run for its money – and the option of launching some speedy services from east London to mainland Europe for the first time ever is currently being explored.
A Virgin Group spokesperson said in a statement that ‘Virgin’s ambition extends beyond its initial launch plans and we’ve been actively engaging with stakeholders to explore future expansion. Virgin is looking forward to exploring additional stops, including Stratford International‘.
This means that, despite it having boasted a rather misleading name since it first set up shop 20 years ago, Stratford International could finally start living up to its title.
Whilst the east London travel hub has always been kitted out with the necessary equipment to accommodate international trains, St Pancras International has always somewhat stolen the thunder. But Virgin Trains could potentially be the first rail operator to make use of the international facilities in east London. Before then, Virgin plans to run trains from St Pancras International from 2030.
East Ham MP, Sir Stephen Timms, has been pretty keen on the idea of Stratford International become a hub for hotfooting it out of the country for quite some time now. He believes it would not only ease the pressure on St Pancras, but also be a ‘commercial opportunity’ for the area.
Virgin Trains isn’t the only operator with its eyes on Stratford International. Last year, ambitious British start-up, Gemini, also expressed its interest in using the east London station as its primary terminus in the capital city. So, it seems as though it really could finally be Stratford International’s time to shine.
