A rail company has revealed its plans to take on Eurostar and Virgin with new routes to Europe from the UK.
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, also known as FS Group, announced it hopes to run trains through the Channel Tunnel to the UK by 2029.
The move comes after the Italian state-owned rail company secured support from Certares, an American private equity firm, The Telegraph reports.
Last year, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed it would allocate spare capacity at Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot in Leyton, East London.
Temple Mills is the only train depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1, the line that runs between London and the tunnel and Eurostar has held monopoly for the past 31 years.
In October, the ORR confirmed Virgin Trains had been granted access to the depot.
FS Group missed out on the spot, but now plans to bring a third train service to rival both Virgin and Eurostar.
To tackle the lack of space in the Temple Mills depot, the company intends to base 10 Channel Tunnel trains at a new spot being built in France, near Paris.
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, also known as FS Group, announced it hopes to run trains through the Channel Tunnel to the UK by 2029
Last year, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed it would allocate spare capacity at Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot in Leyton, East London
This would mean FS Group would not need to rely on the UK depot for storage, and could still travel into the country from France.
FS Group told The Telegraph: ‘The company intends to further expand its network, including entry onto the Paris-London route and additional cross-border services.’
One train would stay overnight in London St Pancras to set off first thing in the morning.
Virgin intends to begin services from London St. Pancras to Europe from 2030, meaning FS Group could beat the rail service by a year.
Plans are in place for Virgin routes from London to Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels-Midi and Amsterdam Central.
There could also be further expansions across France and into Germany and Switzerland.
Virgin also recently agreed with Alstom to buy 12 Avelia Stream trains and will be funded by investor Equitix, as well as private equity firm Azzurra Capital.
The trains could stop in Kent if Ebbsfleet International or Ashford International station are reopened.
In October, the ORR confirmed Virgin Trains had been granted access to the depot
Virgin is in talks with Kent County Council to try and make this possible.
When the depot space was first confirmed for Virgin, Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, praised the approval and pledged to ‘shake-up the cross-Channel route’.
The billionaire entrepreneur said: ‘The ORR’s decision 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.
‘Virgin is no stranger to delivering award-winning rail services, and just as we have successfully challenged incumbents in air, cruise and rail, we’re ready to do it again.’
