A new proposed French rolling stock tax which could cost Eurostar £5 million or more a year is set to be challenged under European law. The French proposal would come into effect just before Christmas -- only a short time before international open access starts on 1 January.

The tax is part of the French 2010 Finance Bill, and would apply to all passenger rolling stock. The domestic state-owned operator SNCF would not be greatly affected, because an asset-based tax levied on the French operator would be partially withdrawn, making the effect of the changes largely neutral.

However, other operators would be worse off, including Eurostar, which it is estimated would have to pay some £5.5 million a year. Other operators also set to be hit include Thalys, which operates High Speed services from the Netherlands and Belgium to France.

The tax would also affect any operator which might be intending to take advantage of the impending open-access regime to provide new international services to London, because the continental approach to the Channel Tunnel is in France. The tax is apparently not calculated on such variables as the distance travelled or the number of passengers carried.

The railway industry in other countries is now reported to be taking legal advice, because the move is being seen as anti-competitive. Those joining the protest could include Deutsche Bahn and Eurostar, who may argue that the tax would be a breach of the EU obligation not to adopt domestic measures that have a negative effect on transport operators from other member states.