Hope of local trains to and from Calais
Calais-Fréthun has this in common with Ashford and Ebbsfleet: it was removed as a Eurostar stop during the pandemic and never reinstated. In this article published in Kent and Surrey Bylines, Charlotte Mbali describes a trip across the Channel to… Read More >
Paris-Berlin sleeper train revived
A new sleeper train service has started to offer night journeys between Paris and Berlin nine years after the original service was scrapped by the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn. The new service is operated by OBB (Austrian railways) as… Read More >
Getlink announce changes to train standards
Getlink, the company that owns Eurotunnel, wants to encourage a whole plethora of European destinations to be reached via the tunnel, following a decison to simplify the safety requirements demanded by Eurotunnel to those already in use by French trains…. Read More >
Edinburgh-Paris sleeper train plan shelved
A plan for a new sleeper service between Paris and Edinburgh has been defeated by the Channel Tunnel’s stringent fire regulations. The French company Midnight Trains hoped to add London and Edinburgh to its proposed European network of night trains,… Read More >
Alstrom may need to contract in the UK
The train manufacturer Alstrom is expected to suffer following the cancellation of HS2 in the north of England. Alstrom is also the company to which Evolyn is reported to have entrusted the manufacture of its Channel-ready trains. So it’s bad… Read More >
More competitors for Eurostar: Virgin and Heuro
Train companies seem to be lining up to break Eurostar’s monopoly on passenger train services through the Channel Tunnel. After reporting on interest from the Spanish company Evolyn, we now learn that Richard Branson’s Virgin may have a go, although… Read More >
The age of the train?
Train services, in particular night trains, were the subject of yesterday’s episode of The Bottom Line, a Radio 4 series fronted by journalist Evan Davis. His guests were: The programme can be found by following this link Why night trains?… Read More >
HS2 and the UK’s attitude to railways
In this opinion piece, the Railway Gazette’s Nick Kingsley regards Rishi Sunak’s decision to abandon the remaining section of HS2 as a kick in the teeth for the industry. It is, says the commentator, “all the more staggering when one… Read More >
Evolyn won’t stop at Ashford
Kent Online confirm that the train company Evolyn, who have just commissioned 12 Channel-Tunnel-ready trains from Alstrom, do not plan to stop at Ashford or Ebbsfleet. Read Ruth Cassidy’s article here.
Eurostar no longer running below capacity
In the two years that followed the end of the pandemic, Eurostar capped its trains at 80% capacity. This was because time it took to get all passengers through passport control and security at St Pancras made for unmanageably long… Read More >