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 one of the 3 that have made formal bids is likely to become the first to compete against Eurostar within the next 5 years. Terminal capacity at London, Paris & Brussels can now be increased to cope with more passengers and there is probably enough depot capacity for Eurostar + one other operator to run services from London. In practice this will be the train operator who manages to raise sufficient finance to place a firm order for trains which can be certified to run through the channel tunnel.

AND AN INCENTIVE SCHEME AS WELL !!

HS1 the owners of the High-Speed Line plan to launch an International Growth Incentive Scheme. There will be “Financial Incentives” to encourage train operators to expand services, introduce new destinations and boost passenger numbers.

AND A REMINDER FOR THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION CONFERENCE IN SWINDON on 13th & 14th JUNE.

Members of The European Campaign UK pay the reduced conference fee of 100 Euros. Places are still available. You can find further details of the program and registration via this link: https://www.epfconference.eu/

RUNWAYS TO RAILWAYS : UNLOCKING THE GROWTH POTENTIAL OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL

Monday 31st March – 6pm to 8pm in London – The Campaign for Better Transport will be holding a panel discussion about how the UK can make better use of International Rail. See below to register for this free event.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/runways-to-railways-unlocking-the-growth-potential-of-the-channel-tunnel-tickets-1262329444349?aff=oddtdtcreator

RESTORING INTERNATIONAL SERVICES FROM ASHFORD & EBBSFLEET

A group of Kent & Sussex MPs have met with Eurostar urging them to carry out a proper assessment of consumer demand for train services serving these 2 stations in Kent. They also met with Virgin & the Rail Minister who confirmed they were both keen to see international services restored to the 2 Kent stations.

ORR – “THE REGULATOR” IS HELPING TO REMOVING ANOTHER BARRIER PREVENTING VIRGIN & EVOLYN STARTING NEW SERVICES FROM LONDON

Last year Virgin & Evolyn made a formal Section 17 depot access application to the ORR (The Office of Rail & Road) for permission to use the International Depot at Stratford for train-preparation & servicing. Eurostar then claimed that there was no space for another operator and also claimed that ORR have no power to make such a decision. The ORR have now ruled that they have the legal authority to make this decision and have appointed an independent expert to investigate & report. They then hope to make a decision later this year. We predict that they will rule that there is enough space, but, for only one new operator.

MORE EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS BECOMES GOVERNMENT POLICY

Lord Hendy – the Rail Minister stated in Parliament on 25th February “The Dft is working as hard as it can to increase the number of European destinations accessible through Eurotunnel”

AND NOW THE SWISS WANT TO COME TO LONDON

Now that the owners of HS1 and Getlink (who own the channel tunnel) are working together to develop more passenger services to/from Europe, our Department of Transport officials have been discussing with Swiss Federal Railways the feasibility of direct services between London and Switzerland. Direct high-speed trains from London to Geneva or Basel could offer journey times of just under 6 hours. See here for more details from Swiss Info: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/could-a-direct-high-speed-train-link-between-switzerland-and-london-soon-be-a-reality/49071586