Eurostar is to start running doubledecker trains through the Channel tunnel to meet growing demand for international rail travel from the UK.
The rail operator announced it had signed a €2bn (£1.7bn) deal for at least 30 – and up to 50 – new trains from the manufacturer Alstom.
The doubledeckers will start operating from 2031, with each able to carry more than 1,000 passengers.
Eurostar said the Celestia trains, the first high-speed doubledeckers to run on the UK mainland, would have about 20% more seats than its biggest existing trains.
Some of the extra space would be taken up by stairs, but it would also be used for wheelchairs, bicycles, additional legroom and “surprises”, it said.
The upper deck, traditionally in Britain a place for smokers, dreamers and now those who might enjoy a fleeting panoramic view of Kent, will be priced the same as the lower deck and passengers will be able to choose where they sit.
In France, where similar doubledecker TGVs run on some high-speed routes, few express a preference for upstairs or downstairs, Eurostar’s chief executive, Gwendoline Cazenave, said.
Conventional doubledecker trains are in use in numerous countries in Europe and worldwide, including Spain, Russia, Japan and the US.
But despite the renown of London’s doubledecker buses, Britain has only once employed a split-level train, to carry commuters on busy services in south-east London. The experimental trains, which only ran from Dartford in Kent to Charing Cross, lasted from 1949 until 1971, packing about a third more passengers inside carriages that were still small enough to clear the tunnels.
The slow speed of boarding in the age of slam-door trains, however, caused delays, and with smoking still widespread, passengers took issue with the poor ventilation. Those taller than 1.7 metres (5ft 7in) would also have struggled to avoid knocks with the limited headroom upstairs.
With a lower floor downstairs, Eurostar’s doubledeckers will only be 16cm higher than its existing trains. That leaves “plenty of space”, the operator said, on the high-speed track and tunnel, built to comply with European gauge and infrastructure clearance specifications. That is larger than the rest of the UK’s railway, however, meaning the new trains are almost certain never to venture elsewhere.
The SNCF-owned operator plans to maintain the entire fleet at the Temple Mills depot in north-east London, which it hopes to redevelop with a further €80m investment, creating 350 jobs.
The announcement comes as the UK regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, is preparing to announce a critical decision on whether Eurostar should make space at Temple Mills for a competitor.
A number of other interested international high-speed rail operators, including Virgin, FS Italiane (Trenitalia, partnering with Spanish firm Evolyn) and Gemini have bid for the depot space, which Eurostar says is not feasible given its own expansion plans.
Last week, FS Italiane pledged its cross-Channel services would call at Ashford, Kent if successful, after ministers urged the ORR to favour bids that reopened disused UK high-speed stations.
Cazenave said the timing of its train order announcement was a coincidence, as it continued to bounce back to growth after years of decline.
She said: “Placing this milestone order marks the concrete realisation of Eurostar’s ambitious growth strategy: to reach 30 million passengers by investing in a brand-new fleet. We’re particularly proud to bring doubledecker trains to the UK for the very first time.
“Customers can expect a very special new train with Eurostar Celestia, which will offer exceptional comfort, a unique Eurostar experience and new surprises to be revealed.”
The trains will be able to operate throughout Eurostar’s network, including to its planned destinations of Frankfurt and Geneva. It will phase out its older trains, bar the 17 latest e320s, making its total fleet about 30% bigger once all 50 trains are delivered.
Cazenave said the order was long in the making, and Britain needed to increase its capacity for international rail, regardless of the imminent depot decision. She said: “When I look at the demand, the way the market is pushing, what we are really pushing for is for the UK to find solutions for sustainable travel expansion between the UK and continent of Europe.”
Virgin has also signed a deal with Alstom, to buy 12 Avelia high-speed trains – a type in use in Italy and Sweden – should the regulator grant it depot space. The ORR is understood to have made a provisional decision at a board meeting on Tuesday, and is due to confirm it by 31 October.
