Virgin Group, led by Sir Richard Branson, is preparing to order a dozen high-speed trains—worth an estimated £500 million—as it pushes to become the first competitor to Eurostar on services through the Channel Tunnel.
Project leader Phil Whittingham confirmed that Virgin aims to close the deal as early as this quarter, ahead of rival startup Evolyn, which has also revealed plans to operate trains from London into mainland Europe. Virgin has shortlisted two manufacturers, having evaluated designs from Alstom, Siemens, Hitachi, and Talgo.
Virgin is targeting 2029 as the launch date for its Channel Tunnel services. The project will need close to £1 billion in start-up funding, Whittingham said, with Sir Richard Branson set to provide the largest possible equity stake, potentially alongside other partners.
It marks the first time Eurostar will face real competition since it began operations. Evolyn, backed by Spain’s Cosmen family, the leading investor in transport group Mobico (formerly National Express), also aims to run trains through the tunnel. However, hopes for two new entrants may be dented by concerns over whether the existing infrastructure, including Temple Mills maintenance depot in east London, can handle so many additional high-speed trains.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is poised to decide if Britain’s maintenance capacity can cope with more operators. Eurostar has argued that Temple Mills is already at full stretch maintaining its own fleet.
Whittingham said he expects the rail regulator to find enough capacity for one new market entrant at the depot, but added that having three operators in total—Eurostar plus two newcomers—would likely prove unworkable. “We don’t believe there is room for three operators on the route,” he said.
Virgin aims to be ready to sign off on the train order as soon as the ORR greenlights extra maintenance capacity. “We’re hoping the regulator will determine what capacity is available and reserve it for a new competitor,” Whittingham explained. “We expect the first operator to come along with a contract for new trains will get that capacity.”
Evolyn had previously announced an agreement to buy 12 trains from Alstom, though Alstom has since clarified no binding contract was in place and delivery dates could not be guaranteed.
A Eurostar spokesperson stressed that capacity constraints at both St Pancras International station and Temple Mills, rather than any attempt by Eurostar to stifle competition, remain the biggest obstacle to more operators running cross-Channel services. They added that Eurostar had contacted the new government, asking for support to unlock the necessary infrastructure upgrades.
The ORR has appointed an independent expert to assess Temple Mills’ capacity, with findings expected this month. Separately, the regulator last week ordered HS1—the company managing the UK’s section of the high-speed line—to reduce track access fees by 10pc, aiming to promote competition on the route. Although the reduction saves an additional £5m annually, Whittingham insists the line will remain relatively costly for would-be operators.
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Virgin plots £500m train order in bid to challenge Eurostar’s channel tunnel dominance