The Office of Road and Rail has concluded its investigations into who should get the spare space at Temple Mills Depot, and thus, a key part of launching a competitor to Eurostar.
And it’s Virgin Trains Europe.
Virgin Trains Europe competed with Evolyn, Gemini and Trenitalia to gain access to Temple Mills, with the ORR noting that Virgin Trains’ plans were more financially and operationally robust than those of other applicants, and it provided clear evidence of investor backing and an agreement in principle to deliver the necessary and appropriate rolling stock.
Virgin Trains Europe plans a London to Paris and Brussels service, with further expansion to Amsterdam.
They plan to do this with Alstom Alevia Stream trainsets, for which they will obtain 12 200-metre-long trainsets to support the service.
The ORR set out its decision to approve Virgin Trains’ application, and reject applications from in a decision letter today, which was informed by analysis as well as Eurostar’s planned growth. In it, it sets out that Virgin Trains’ potential benefits were stronger than Trenitalia’s or the other proposals, with its plans more financially and operationally robust than theirs.
It should be noted (and this is important) that this is for access to the Temple Mills Depot. It does not cover access to Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International (which has not seen Eurostar services since the pandemic) or Stratford International (which has seen no international trains at all).
Timeline to services
With Virgin Trains aiming for a delivery of services from 2030, there are more than a few steps that Virgin Trains Europe will have to go through, including:
- Securing financing
- Securing rolling stock
- Track access to HS1
- Track access to Eurotunnel
- Station access to St Pancras (and other HS1 stations)
- Access to heavy maintenance facilities
- Safety certification in the UK (including the Channel Tunnel)
- Rolling stock authorisation in the UK (including the Channel Tunnel)
- Access to track, stations and depots in the EU
- Safety certification and rolling stock authorisation in the EU
In Quotes
Martin Jones, Deputy Director, Access and International, said:
“With this decision we are backing customer choice and competition in international rail, unlocking up to £700mn in private sector investment and stimulating growth. While there is still some way to go before the first new services can run, we stand ready to work with Virgin Trains as their plans develop.”
Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group, said:
“The decision today is the right one for consumers. It’s time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route. I’ve always believed competition drives innovation, and that’s exactly what we will bring to the Channel Tunnel. This is what we do best. Just as we’ve challenged incumbents in the air, on the seas, and just as we’ve led the UK rail market before – we’re ready to do it all over again.”
A new future?
Virgin does what Virgin does best – a little Gurlilla marketing at St Pancras International – Image, Virgin.
All of this so far is to access a depot in East London. Let’s put that into focus first.
It’s an important part of the jigsaw to allow Virgin Trains Europe to start its service to Europe, but by no means, not the whole picture – as you can see from the list above.
It’s going to take a lot of money, as well as time, to gain access to rail network paths, access to stations, as well as the tunnel, let alone the certification hurdles (with a note that the Alieva Stream has no customers currently – so the train will need to go through those hurdles too).
We’ve come to an interesting point, with Eurostar being in a dominant position for 30 years unchallenged. Whilst it is modernising its fleet (and allegedly basing its new fleet at Temple Mills), I suspect space at this depot is going to be a fighting point for some time to come.
But if Virgin Trains Europe can stand up and offer a strong enough option against Eurostar, we could be living in very interesting times.
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