Any further UK investment in depot space should come with conditions
Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar’s CEO, went on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning to bemoan the lack of investment in depot space at Temple Mills. Listen to a clip here (©BBC 2026): The background to this is Eurostar’s stated… Read More >
A week on from the ORR’s decision on Temple Mills, what have we learnt?
A week has elapsed since the ORR’s decision to allocate the space capacity in the Temple Mills to Virgin Trains Europe. Virgin won out over Eurostar and three other operators vying to launch a rival cross-Channel train service. What have… Read More >
Eurostar told to move over and allow competition
In a historic and much-anticipated move, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has allocated the spare capacity at the Temple Mill depot to Virgin Trains Europe. This opens the way for Virgin to start running a rival international train… Read More >
Historic decision: Virgin to provide competition to Eurostar
Bring Back Euro Trains welcomes this historic day, as the ORR (Office of Rail and Road) gives the green light to open up the UK international rail market to genuine competition. We congratulate Virgin Trains, well known for their innovation… Read More >
Eurostar and the competitor landscape
Bring Back Euro Trains has published a briefing paper to help navigate the complexities of Eurostar’s competitor hopefuls. Four companies have put forward serious proposals to create a rival service to Eurostar. Their submissions are currently being reviewed by the… Read More >
Rivals to Eurostar: what are their chances of success?
The rail podcast channel Green Signals has interviewed Jon Worth, the European railway policy commentator, about Eurostar’s rival hopefuls. The resulting discussion is posted on Jon’s website and on YouTube. The video is a must-watch for anyone who is following… Read More >
Virgin getting ready for cross-Channel services
Virgin Trains has announced that it is firming up plans to order new rolling stock that will ply the cross-Channel route by 2030. The company stands ready to sign a deal with train manufacturer Alstom by end of October, as… Read More >
ORR to allocate depot capacity to Eurostar rivals
The rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), has rejected Eurostar’s criticisms of its initial report indicating that the train depot at Temple Mills has capacity for more international train operators. It has concluded that the report is… Read More >
Virgin heads the race to rival Eurostar
Virgin Group have announced that before March this year, it will finalise an order for new rolling stock to run through the Channel Tunnel. It is evaluating rival suppliers for a dozen trains and when they begin running in 2029,… Read More >