Virgin unveils mock-up of its 2030 cross-Channel train

What Virgin showed

Virgin unveiled the mock-up in its red and black livery. The Avelia Stream unit is rated at 300km/h, the same as Eurostar's fleet. The Office of Rail and Road also published an agreement with Eurostar for Virgin to maintain its trains at Temple Mills in east London.

Virgin said the interiors will draw on Virgin Atlantic's airport lounges, its cruise line menus and Virgin Hotels design. It said details were being kept under wraps. Josh Bayliss, chief executive of Virgin Group, said the venture draws on more than four decades of experience across travel and hospitality.

The service pattern is 20 daily return services between London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from 2030. Virgin puts the capacity gain at almost 7.5m seats a year and the job creation at up to 1,000 posts. Voyages d'affaires reported that Virgin's plan would create 400 jobs. Virgin also hopes to connect its rail and airline networks and add the service to its loyalty platform.

The regulator and depot

The ORR granted Virgin track access rights for up to 20 daily return services from October 2030 until the end of 2040. It had already approved Virgin's right to use Temple Mills, which until then had only been used by Eurostar and had 20% spare capacity. The regulator said Virgin's plans were financially and operationally stronger than those of the other applicants, which included Trenitalia and Gemini Trains. Only Virgin has secured regulatory approval to access HS1, the high-speed line to the Channel Tunnel, The Local reported.

The project is estimated at £700m and backed by the UK investment fund Equitix and Luxembourg's Azzurra Capital. Eurostar wrote to the British government during the summer to oppose a competitor at the depot. It now has to agree terms with Virgin.

Fares and obstacles

Virgin's plan would give Eurostar competition for the first time since the Channel Tunnel opened, the Guardian reported. Virgin's fleet is 12 trains. Eurostar has ordered 30 double-decker Celestia trains due in service from May 2031, each 400-metre formation carrying around 1,080 seats, about 20% more than today. Virgin also wants to reopen Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International, which Eurostar dropped in 2020.

On price, rail commentator Christian Wolmar told the Express that tunnel access fees of around £25 per passenger inflate fares before a train leaves. Wolmar questioned whether Virgin had actually bought the 20 trains required for its proposed operation. Virgin's announcements refer to 12.

Rail researcher Marcus Mayers told The Local that permission to run trains is not the hard part. Being able to stable and service them is, he said. He said Virgin could differentiate with different seating, family spaces or areas built around particular passenger needs. St Pancras is already struggling with international passenger numbers, and Wolmar said queues at Gare du Nord can reach halfway to the metro station. The EU's biometric passport checks, known as EES, will add processing time. The Channel Tunnel Security Order also limits where international trains can stop.

What happens next

The ORR still has to issue safety authorisations when the first trains are tested, and grant train paths and station access on the British side before any train runs.