Britain could demand a share of revived Eurostar
The fate of Eurostar could depend on the willingness of the existing shareholders to surrender a stake in the owning company to the British government. Britain sold its 40 per cent share in Eurostar to two international investment houses in 2015, while the majority stake of 55 per cent has remained with French railways, The other 5 per cent is owned by Belgian railways. But there have been discussions between British and French transport ministers over Britain paying a share of the bailout which Eurostar needs to stay in business, after its timetables were slashed as a result of the pandemic.
Rail staff are increasingly at risk from new variations of coronavirus, but are also victims of a ‘complacent and callous approach’ from employers, according to the RMT. It is calling for staff to receive priority in the queue for vaccinations.
Councils which have been campaigning for East West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge are describing a Department for Transport funding announcement as ‘a milestone worth celebrating’. The DfT is investing £794 million in the restoration of two routes which were closed to passenger trains in the 1960s. Most of the money will go to rebuilding East West Rail between Bicester and Bletchley, but £34 million will be used to ‘rapidly progress’ plans to reopen the line between Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Ashington.
Eurostar is set to receive financial support from the French and British governments, according to French transport secretary Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. He has been involved in talks with British transport secretary Grant Shapps.
A consortium led by Bombardier Transportation has confirmed a deal with the Egyptian Government to build two new monorails, with the support of a guarantee from the British government which is worth £1.7 billion. The funding will allow a monorail car production line to be created at Litchurch Lane in Derby. The monorail cars will be the first rail vehicles to be built at Derby for export since Bombardier supplied the Gautrain fleet for lines in the Johannesburg area, based on the Electrostar series, more than a decade ago.
The government is being told ‘we cannot afford to lose Eurostar’, which is in crisis as a result of the pandemic travel restrictions. The Commons Transport Committee has been advised by French academic Professor Yves Crozet that he supposes ‘the French Government will support Eurostar, but not alone. We will have probably an arm wrestling between the UK and France about that. Clearly the money will come from France in a very important part but maybe France will ask UK to give also some hand to the system.’
Simpler guidance about level crossing safety is being unveiled by the Office of Rail and Road, to help the rail industry and highway authorities. There were more than 400 incidents at crossings last year, including six collisions.