The sooner the better for a Eurostar competitor – but it won’t be smooth sailing
An end to Eurostar’s monopoly on the Channel Tunnel can only be a good thing for passengers, Guy Taylor argues
For three decades, the French high speed operator has whizzed customers across the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
But now at least five companies are interested in launching a rival. Among them, Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Spain’s Evolyn and the newly established Dutch operator Heuro.
A new competitor would no doubt push Eurostar to improve punctuality, reduce disruption and, ultimately, lower fares. Just look at the influx of open access operators on Britain’s major rail routes that are helping give mainstay operators a kicking.
Most agree Eurostar needs it. The French firm experienced years of decline amid Brexit and the pandemic and capacity was hamstrung as a number of key routes were axed.
Canned services include routes to Marseilles and Disneyland Paris, and Amsterdam is soon to join the list. Services from Ashford International, the main rail station in East Kent, have not restarted since they were struck off in Covid-19, despite strong objections from rail campaigners and locals.
The operator has also struggled financially post-pandemic and has in the past fallen back on its shareholders, which include the French government, to service its debt.
The problems indicate a general need for change but the hype surrounding a new rival may actually be coming at the perfect time, as Eurostar finally looks to be getting more of a grip on things.
It brought in record revenue in 2023 and as of May, debt has been trimmed to £558m after a successful refinancing. The performance is such that Eurostar has invested in expanding its fleet with more than 50 new trains to ramp up capacity.
That sent a message that any new competitor will be in for a good jostle.
The bad news is that hurdles are starting to crop up all over the shop, leaving stakeholders concerned history could be in for a repeat of itself.
Many have tried to break Eurostar’s monopoly over the years but with precious little success. The closest attempt came from Deutsche Bahn in 2010 but that project was eventually shelved, in part down to Brexit-related uncertainties.
Brexit is still proving a significant issue even now.
The Channel Tunnel previously operated under a single regulator but the system was split following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union. While the French side is ready, reports suggest the UK side may not be for a while.
Recent corporate filings from Eurostar reveal Evolyn’s service, which had been touted to start as early as next year, will start in 2028 at the very earliest.
And while Getlink, the French company which manages the Channel Tunnel’s infrastructure, has said it is confident it has enough space for the undersea section, it is still not remotely clear how a new Eurostar rival would fit in Kings Cross St Pancras.
Alongside the Port of Dover, St Pancras has struggled since Brexit amid an increase in requirements for border checks, which have caused significant capacity problems. In March, HS1 announced aspirations to upgrade the station’s capacity, but these are still only at the consultation stage.
Added to that are the incoming new Entry/Exit System (EES) border checks, which will replace passport stamping for UK travellers with a requirement to enter personal information and provide biometric data.
The owner of St Pancras station warned in February that preparations for the new checks were “severely inadequate” and would lead to long delays and the capping of services.
And even if space and capacity wasn’t an issue at St Pancras, disruption on the High Speed One line has plagued Eurostar since the turn of the year.
Network Rail, the body which manages the UK’s rail infrastructure, has struggled with repeat overhead power cable failures and a string of separate incidents – it would undoubtedly be concerned should many new trains be running the route.
The issues are clearly wide ranging. So while there should be some hype that Eurostar’s monopoly finally looks set to be broken, we shouldn’t get too excited just yet.