MORE TRAINS TO EUROPE – UPDATE ON PROGRESS SO FAR

In recent months there have been some promising announcements from several Train Operators. VIRGIN TRAINS now have confirmed access to the Stratford Depot, HS1 and London St Pancras.They plan to run up to 20 services per day from London to Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam. They plan to order 12 Avelia Stream trains from Alstom, though the order has yet to be confirmed. They hope to start services in 2030. See here for further information:https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/17/virgin-trains-services-to-europe-eurostar TRENITALIA do not have access to the Stratford Depot and do not yet have confirmed access to HS1 and London St.Pancras. They do however have a depot under construction in Paris which could be used to maintain any trains serving London via the channel tunnel.They have

SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS FOR RAIL USERS ACROSS THE EU

DECEMBER 2021 Since The European Year of Rail in 2021(Do you remember this?) the EU has been committed to boost long distance and cross border passenger rail travel across Europe. See here for further details: –https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/action-plan-boost-passenger-rail-2021-12-14_en NOVEMBER 2025 Then, last November the EU Commission launched their plans for supporting an expanded European High-Speed rail Network. The plans are ambitious and they hope to implement them by 2040. See here for further details:- https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/rail/high-speed-rail-plan_en Here a few highlights from the plan: >> By 2030 passengers will be able to travel between Berlin and Copenhagen in 4 hours, instead of the 7 hours required today. >> By 2035, Sofia and Athens will be a train trip of 6 hours apart, reducing travel

WHERE ARE WE NOW ALMOST 4 MONTHS INTO THE SO-CALLED “ENERGY CRISIS” ?

Since the start of the conflict in the Gulf in early March, the strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf has been blocked to virtually all shipping. This has stopped around 20% of the world’s oil supply from being exported from the Gulf. As we all know, this has caused a sharp rise cost of petrol, diesel and kerosene. Even if there is now a provisional resolution of the conflict, the cost of fuel is unlikely to fall to “pre-war” levels anytime soon. What this all means is that the economics have begun to work in favour of rail travel which is less affected by sudden increases in fuel costs. The majority of the European main lines are electrified using

SWISS RAILWAYS ARE BETTER THAN EVER

While the cost of diesel fuel goes up and up each week due to the war in the Gulf, the UK still has less than 50% of its rail network electrified. Hopefully, Rail will be prioritised as an essential service if diesel fuel has to be rationed in the near future.UK Government policy seems to be “Anything but Electrification” in recent years. All we seem to hear is talk about battery trains, hydrogen trains and “Discontinuous Electrification”. This in stark contrast to the Swiss who now have a virtually 100% electric railway powered from mainly renewable sources which are not affected by the Gulf War. While train fares and much else are not that cheap in Switzerland the service is

HS1 – CONNECTING TO – HS2 – A PIPE DREAM?

When HS2 was planned, there was always the option of connecting HS1 with HS2 in the centre of London. However, on grounds of cost it was decided not to include such a link when the HS2 route was finally agreed in Parliament. When HS1 reached London St Pancras in 2007, a connection had already been built from HS1 to the current West Coast main line. Given the outrageous cost over-runs just for building a “truncated” HS2 from London to Birmingham, you might think that reviving such a link is a non-starter. However, Kayla Bibby -an Independent Traffic Planner thinks otherwise and has drawn up a plan. Tunnelling of the final section from Old Oak Common to Euston has only just

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

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

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

“QUITE A LOT HAS BEEN GOING ON RECENTLY”

We have some fairly positive news to report this month, beginning with: 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