Eurostar to run doubledeck trains through Chunnel from 2031

(Sharecast News) - Eurostar is to start running double decker trains through the channel tunnel to meet the rising demand for international travel from the UK, the company said on Wednesday. The cross channel rail operator said it had signed a €2bn (£1.7bn) deal for at least 30 new trains from the manufacturer Alstom with the option of buying up to 50. The new trains will start operating from 2031, with each able to carry more than 1,000 passengers.

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, Eurostar added. The 200-metre trains will be interoperable across all five countries currently served plus new destinations of Geneva and Frankfurt.

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.

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.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com