Trenitalia forge ahead with Channel Tunnel plans
Trenitalia have announced plans to launch a Paris-London service by 2029, significantly ahead of Virgin Trains Europe. Articles have appeared in The Telegraph and The Connexion explaining that the Italian state railway FS Group, which own Trenitalia, has received a financial boost from US private equity firm Certares to underpin this new service.
Their plan is to build a new depot outside Paris for the maintenance and stabling of 10 new trains, circumventing their loss of the depot space at Temple Mills. This would mean storing just one train overnight at London St Pancras for the early morning service.
Trenitalia are described as “gatecrashing” Virgin’s hopes with their intention to be the first to provide competition for Eurostar, which may force Virgin to bring its plans forward.
The other competitors who demonstrated their interest in the service, Gemini and Evolyn, have stated publicly that they are not giving up their hopes, but they have yet to make any concrete announcements.
Category: General News
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