A European train company could end Eurostar’s dominance over the Channel Tunnel rail route.
The FS Italiane Group, Italy’s state-owned railway company, has ordered 19 new high-speed trains via its subsidiary Trenitalia France.
The new trains, supplied by Hitachi Rail, are part of wider plans to establish the company for future high-speed connections between Paris and London, which it said is scheduled to begin in 2029.
Eurostar, which runs trains between London and mainland Europe, has held a decades-long monopoly since the route’s inception in 1994. The tunnel currently only runs at 50 per cent capacity.
Trenitalia France will also use the €2bn (£1.7bn) investment on routes from Paris to Lyon, Marseille and Milan by improving service quality and increasing train frequencies.
Alongside Trenitalia France, other operators have voiced their interest in establishing cross-Channel services, including Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains, London-based startup Gemini Trains and Spanish startup Evolyn.
To support Trenitalia France’s operation, plans have been drawn up for a maintenance facility to be built in Maisons-Alfort Pompadour, just outside Paris.
This removes the need for the majority of trains to be stored at a British depot – a crucial issue for Eurostar rivals – although one train must stay in London overnight for the morning service.
“This order represents a strategic step for the FS Group: it strengthens our presence in France, a key market for international growth, and supports the development of increasingly efficient, sustainable, and competitive high-speed services,” said Gianpiero Strisciuglio, CEO of the FS Italiane Group.
“The new trains and the new maintenance hub at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour are also key elements for the launch of the Paris-London link, a central project in the vision of the ‘European Metro’, the integrated high-speed network that will increasingly connect Europe's major cities.”
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