Trans-national train operator Eurostar has finally made its play in its fleet upgrade.
Introducing “Eurostar Celestia”.
The Eurostar Celestia introduces a concept that has not been seen for many years in the United Kingdom – double-decker trains.
Eurostar has had the order authorised by the SNCF Voyageurs Board of Directors for 30 firm orders of the Alstom Avelia Horizon, with options for a further 20, bringing the total to 50 trains if fully taken up. This is based on the SNCF/Alstom framework order (an important thing that people forget is that Eurostar is
The order will apply to the four-voltage version of this very high-speed train, which meets the needs of European traffic. The international trainsets will operate on the rail networks of five countries under the Eurostar banner: Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as far as London (St. Pancras International railway station) via the Channel Tunnel – a first for a double-deck high-speed train.
The 200-metre trains will be interoperable across all five countries served today, plus new destinations of Geneva and Frankfurt.
The name of the fleet, selected by members of the Eurostar team, is derived from the Latin word caelestis, meaning “heavenly”. It evokes the stars and the essence of travel, perfectly capturing the spirit of a company that links a constellation of cities across Europe.
Seat capacity will increase by 20% on each new train, subject to final design specifications. It is expected that each 200-metre set will have around 540 seats. If running in 400m formation (as through the Channel Tunnel today), there would be around 1,080 seats per service.
The first trains are due to join the fleet in January 2031, with commercial services launching in May 2031. Six new trains will be operational at that time, marking the beginning of a new era for Eurostar and its customers on board Eurostar Celestia.
Once delivered, the new trains will operate alongside Eurostar’s current fleet of 17 Siemens Velaro e320s, bringing the total fleet to 67 trains – a 30% uplift overall versus today.
Eurostar plans to maintain the entire fleet at the Temple Mills depot in London, which would be developed to accommodate the new trains at a cost of around €80m.
In Quotes
Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO, Eurostar, said:
“Placing this milestone order marks the concrete realisation of Eurostar’s ambitious growth strategy – to reach 30 million passengers by investing in a brand-new fleet. We’re particularly proud to bring double-decker trains to the UK for the very first time.
“Customers can expect a very special new train with Eurostar Celestia, which will offer exceptional comfort, a unique Eurostar experience and new surprises to be revealed. This is a golden age for international sustainable travel – and Eurostar is leading the race.”
Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, said:
“By choosing Avelia Horizon to renew its fleet, Eurostar is confirming its desire to combine technological performance, energy efficiency and passenger comfort. This new-generation train, designed to meet the demands of international very high-speed traffic, embodies our vision of sustainable and competitive European mobility,”
Lots to unpack
There’s a fair bit to unpack here – so let’s break it down by headlines
“First” Double-Decker Trains in the UK
That’s a little bit of a stretch. There have been double-decker trains in the United Kingdom (Class 4-DD), which were operated by the Southern Region of British Rail, but weren’t successful. You don’t see double-decker trains in the UK, primarily because the UK rail network has been designed to a comparatively restricted loading gauge. Compared to Europe, UK tunnels and platforms are much narrower and shorter – meaning unless you want to rebuild the network (or build new rail lines), double-decker trains don’t normally fly.
The only lines in the UK which will be able to handle them are HS1 (connecting London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel Portal) and HS2 (when it is completed… in whatever form it arrives)
Power Cars are back
Eurostar has been experimenting with both traditional locomotives with carriages (the original Eurostar sets as well as the PBA and PBKA) and distributed traction (with the e320 Velaro). It seems the traditional SNCF/Alstom has won out, with them opting for two power cars and several carriages in between.
200 metre train sets
200 metre trainsets are certainly a little different – however, this must be viewed through the Eurostar network as opposed to just the trans-marche services. Given that these will operate from Paris to destinations across the Eurostar network (including Brussels, Liege, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Cologne and Dortmund – to name a few), most of these train stations cannot accept the 400 traditional trainsets that are used. Thus, we are back to shorter trains that can couple together.
Trying to shut out competitors?
Adding in a discussion of work to upgrade Temple Mills Depot is interesting, given that Evolyn, Virgin Group and Gemini Trains are fighting to get into the depot, so they can start competing services with Eurostar.
Whilst Temple Mills is a large depot, the Office of Road and Rail has concluded it can handle another operator moving in.
One has to wonder if this order is trying to make the business case that Temple Mills is “too full”.
2031? Maybe.
Given that the Alstom Avelia Horizon – better known in its home market as the TGV M – has only recently been delivered to SNCF, by the time the sets for Eurostar are introduced, there should be plenty of knowledge of the type to aid its introduction into service.
However, a six-year deadline for design (especially with the various signalling and power systems required), implementation and deployment could be optimistic – given that whilst some designs look good on paper, real-world experience tends to show otherwise.
That Branding…. I hope it’s temporary…
On a personal note, that branding is boring as heck, with a battleship grey that makes the current Eurostar and Thalys schemes look space-age in comparison. I do hope Eurostar Group reconsiders its livery for these trains.
This being a flagship trans-national service, it has to show off as part of its drive to attract passengers.
This just looks like it was knocked up in Photoshop as a last-minute “We’ll get to it later” concept.
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