A JOINT DEMAND WE HAVE MADE WITH RESEAU EN TRAIN EUROPE FOR FULL ACCESS FOR FOOT PASSENGERS AND CYCLISTS ON ALL CROSS CHANNEL FERRY CROSSINGS BETWEEN THE UK AND EUROPE

 The “Reseau European en Train” https://reseauentrain.eu/?p=2434 and “European Rail Campaign (UK)” both promote rail as the preferred means of sustainable transport. However, this does not stop at transport alone but also considers its relationship with the territories (its effects on daily life, development and tourism in the regions served) and with other modes of transport. In this case, this statement focuses on the interaction between trains and passenger ships. Definition and context – a few figures:  This statement focuses on regular passenger transport by ferry, which provide regular passenger services by sea (more rarely by river), but excluding tourist cruise ships. In the EU, these services carried 220 million passengers in 2024, and in the United Kingdom, 53 million passengers (38 million domestic and 15 million international.) In the UK, the main origin or destination country

2025 – A YEAR OF “ANNOUNCEMENTS”

During the past year we have enjoyed a series of announcements. It began with up to 5 possible competitors announcing their plans to compete against Eurostar from London. As there is limited room for servicing the trains at the depot in Stratford, the Regulator (Office for Road & Rail) then had to make a decision and invited all the competitors to make formal bids to use the depot. The Regulator then announced in October that Virgin had the most viable offer to run services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam using trains they plan to order. Eurostar had also announced their own plans to order new trains and run more services in the future. During the course of the year, we

AFTER A LONG WAIT VIRGIN RETURNS TO RAIL >>THIS TIME DESTINATION EUROPE

More than 31 years after the first Eurostar left London for Paris, Eurostar may finally enjoy some competition from Virgin if and when they launch their new services to Paris & Brussels, hopefully in 2030. This is because the Office for Road & Rail (The Regulator) have ruled that Virgin must be allowed to share the Stratford train care depot with Eurostar. See here for the ORR Press Release: https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/rail-regulator-opens-door-future-international-train-services-temple-mills-access. Although Virgin have not been a train operator in the UK since 2019, they were able to make the best case to the Regulator. Virgin have raised suitable finance to order a fleet of “Avelia Stream” trains which can be maintained at the depot in Stratford. While this is a

OCTOBER DECISION ON TRAIN DEPOT EXPECTED

We are now waiting for the Office for Road and Rail to decide which train operators will be able to use the Eurostar depot at Stratford. HM Government is now keen for one of the train operators to also serve the empty platforms at Stratford, Ebbsfleet and Ashford International. For further details see here a recent article in The Guardian >> https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/26/uk-government-backs-return-of-international-rail-travel-to-kent-stations?utm_term=68d61345380b57f0124f3767119ca142&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email MEANWHILE, THERE WILL BE FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN DECEMBER WITH TRAIN SERVICES ON THE EUROPEAN MAINLAND >>> From the December timetable change, there will be more Eurocity services between Berlin, Poznan and Warsw and a new direct service from Leipzig to Wroclaw, Krakow and Premsyl in southern Poland. In Austria, the new “Koralbahn” tunnel will open in December, reducing

PYGAMA PARTY AT LONDON ST PANCRAS

In association with Back-on-track-Europe, we are planning to hold a “Pygama Party” during the evening of Friday 26th September. This is part of the Europe-wide campaign to expand the night train network across Europe. Pygama parties will be taking place at several other main stations on the European Rail Network. Hopefully one day we will see night trains leaving London for destinations on the European Continent. During the course of the evening, we shall be asking people to name what might be their favourite European Destination to wake up in the morning after leaving London. As London St Pancras High Speed are keen to see more use of their rail services to the channel tunnel, we are hoping that they

RAIL/SEA/RAIL – WHY IS IT GETTING HARDER ?

IS IT TIME TO REVIVE RAIL/SEA/RAIL TRAVEL TO FRANCE ? THEN WHY IS THE NEWHAVEN-DIEPPE FERRY UNDER THREAT ?  Up to now, our campaign has concentrated on developing better rail links with Europe through the Channel Tunnel & beyond. We have also decided to campaign for better Rail/Sea/Rail options between the UK and France. Rail/Sail/Rail is ideal for short breaks in North-East France, Normandy & Brittany. We want to encourage this more sustainable option as an alternative to flying or taking a car onto the ferry. We want to see proper through ticketing provided by train companies in the UK and France. The forthcoming creation of Great British Railways and strategic transport authorities in Kent & Sussex provide a good

CROSS EUROPEAN RAIL LINKS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE

While in the UK we now wait to see which Train Operator(s) will offer better rail connections with European destinations, several daytime links across Europe continue to improve. Some of these are explained below:- (1) PARIS to BERLIN: Until last year passengers had to change trains in Frankfurt. There is now a direct daily service between the 2 capital cities taking about 8 hours in each direction. (2) PRAGUE to GDYNIA (BALTIC EXPRESS): Thanks to co-operation between the Czech State Railways and the Polish State Railways in 2024 a 4 times daily Eurocity Service going via Wroclaw and Poznan was launched. The end-to-end journey time is about 9 hours with many opportunities to stop off and visit attractive and interesting

AND NOW THERE WERE SEVEN + EUROSTAR

Late last year, on the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel, we still had only one train company running passenger services between London and the continent. 6 months into 2025, we now have at least 7 other possible competitors to Eurostar who are:- 1 Deutsche Bahn – They are the German State Rail Operator. They could probably raise the finance and already use similar trains to the e320s used by Eurostar. They have not given a launch-date for any services. 2 Evolyn/FS Italiane Group – This is a joint venture between a large Spanish coach company and Italian State Railways. They can probably raise the finance and claim that the Trenitalia ETR 400 trains could be adapted

AT LAST – ALL 3 MAIN FRENCH-ITALIAN RAIL CONNECTIONS ARE NOW OPEN

Through TGV and Frecciarossa services between Paris GDLyon ,Torino and Milano finally recommenced on March 31 following the reopening of the direct route via Modane. This line had been closed for over 18 months due to a serious landslip. Both SNCF and Trenitalia now run 2 services each per day from Paris to Milan & Turin. This means that there will once again be a good choice of daytime journey opportunities between London and Northern Italy. There is an alternative choice of services via Paris GDLyon to Milano with an easy change in Geneva or Lausanne. This route provides at least one day-time journey opportunity from London. Another alternative choice, also via Paris GDLyon to Milano, involves an easy change

PROGRESS – AT LAST !!

RUNWAYS TO RAILWAYS: At the end of March, the Campaign for Better Transport held their conference on International Rail. You may wish to read their Runways to Railways report at: https://bettertransport.org.uk/research/runways-to-railways-unlocking-the-potential-of-the-channel-tunnel/ THEN THE REGULATOR STEPS IN !! On the same day the Regulator (The Office for Rail & Road) confirmed that there was space for more than one train operator to use the depot in Stratford. This then led to 3 train operators making formal bids to run international train services from London to the continent via HS1 and the Channel Tunnel. The 3 organisations who made formal bids were Evolyn, Virgin and Gemini. There are also up to 4 others who have publicly expressed an interest. Being realistic, only