The owner of London’s St Pancras station says it is hopeful of having international train services to more European countries, including Germany and Switzerland. In a bid to get more passengers to use the station, London St Pancras Highspeed says it wants to encourage «new and existing train operators» to open new routes. It is aiming to increase the capacity for travel across the Channel from 1,800 passengers per hour to nearly 5,000 passengers per hour.
London St Pancras Highspeed and their French counterparts, Getlink, have signed a memorandum of understanding to commit to expanding rail connectivity. Getlink believes there is the potential for services to open up between London and locations such as Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Marseille, and Zurich. The potential new routes would end the need for passengers to change trains. No timeline for such expansions has been revealed.
Eurostar currently holds a monopoly in running passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994. Passengers are able to use Eurostar services to get to Paris and Brussels as well as seasonal ski trains to the French Alps. Earlier this month, the company also resumed direct services from London to Amsterdam after an eight-month hold-up while a new terminal was built in the Netherlands.
But Spanish start-up company Evolyn and billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group are developing proposals to launch rival services. Robert Sinclair, chief executive of Highspeed, said the company will actively work with Getlink to «encourage new and existing train operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations unlocking the potential of a fully connected Europe». He added that he wants rail to be «the preferred option for traveling to Europe».
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Getlink chief executive Yann Leriche said: «We are keen to drive forward attractive opportunities for low-carbon mobility with a range of new destinations in Germany, Switzerland, and France. This partnership with London St Pancras Highspeed is an essential catalyst for accelerating this growth momentum.»
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