Virgin’s plan to run a rival rail service to Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel has moved closer after it was granted track access by the regulator.
The company has been given approval to run up to 20 daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), with the agreement running from 1 October 2030 to 31 December 2040.
The ORR said, external it was “a significant step forward” in introducing competition on the route, where Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services since the tunnel opened in 1994.
However, the regulator said Virgin still had to secure rolling stock for the services and get safety approval from UK and EU authorities.
The approval from the ORR only covers the HS1 route from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel at Dover and the regulator said Virgin also needed to secure access to rail networks in mainland Europe.
The ORR’s deputy director of access and international, Martin Jones, said: “This is an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services.
“While there is still more work to do, we are supporting Virgin and the wider industry to grow international services.”
The ORR said increasing competition on the route would provide “significant benefits” for passengers.
As well as Virgin, Italy’s FS Italiane Group is also planning to run services through the Channel Tunnel from 2029 using its subsidiary Trenitalia France.
Last week, Trenitalia France signed an agreement for 19 new high-speed trains from Hitachi Rail, which it plans to use on the service.
Virgin is planning to buy 12 high-speed trains from Alstom to operate on the route.
A Virgin Group spokesperson said: “Our plans for a new London-Europe rail service from 2030 are moving at pace.
“We welcome the ORR’s pre-approval of our track access agreement and the opportunity to bring competition and Virgin’s award-winning customer experience to the Channel Tunnel.”
The ORR said the extra services into London St Pancras international station would “demand more robust operational working” but said that should not be a barrier to expansion.
It also said the HS1 network should be able to support the “substantial additional services” provided that “operational, contractual, and co-ordination risks are properly controlled”.
Responding to the ORR’s statement, Eurostar said it confirmed “the huge potential for growth in international rail and the ambition across the industry to bring more passengers to Europe by train”.
“Eurostar will play a full part in that growth, and our focus remains on delivering our own ambitious plans, investing in our fleet and carrying 30 million passengers a year,” it said.
Last year, Eurostar said it planned to launch direct train services from London to Germany and Switzerland by the early 2030s.
Last year, Virgin’s plans to launch international services received a boost after the ORR approved its application to share a key rail depot with Eurostar.
Temple Mills railway storehouse in east London is the only depot in the UK able to accommodate the larger trains used in continental Europe and which is already linked to the cross-Channel line.