The government has announced a new collaboration with France on cross-Channel transport, saying the aim is to take ‘ambitious action’ over decarbonisation, confirm a new regulatory framework following Brexit and encourage more rail operators to run international services.

Eurostar said: ‘Eurostar welcomes the UK-France declaration as a meaningful step toward further improving cross-Channel connectivity. Eurostar’s CEO, Gwendoline Cazenave, was proud to join President Macron’s official business delegation during his State Visit, underlining the importance of strong Franco-British economic ties and the vital role international rail plays in that relationship.

‘Eurostar is growing fast. In 2024, we carried 19.5 million passengers across our network – a 5 per cent increase on the previous year, with London-Paris route seeing 280,000 more travellers. The focus is now to invest €2 billion in 50 new trains and to grow direct services from London to Frankfurt and Geneva to reach an ambitious target of carrying 30 million passengers annually.

‘We look forward to working closely with both governments to ensure the cross-Channel network can meet future demand and deliver more sustainable journeys across Europe.’

The announcement has come as several potential open access operators are continuing their efforts to launch services in competition with Eurostar but capacity at Temple Mills depot in east London is under pressure, and so far no solution to this problem has been revealed.

Readers’ comments

Perhaps if HS2 were directly linked to HS1, future international services could run from Birmingham International, and also pick up from Old Oak Common with a new depot in the Birmingham area? This would avoid the St Pancras bottleneck as well as providing for international services starting from outside London. 

James Hutton, Oxford