Italian state railway group Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) on Tuesday revealed plans to launch a high-speed rail service between Paris and London through the Channel Tunnel.
The service, set to be launched by 2029, will challenge Eurostar’s long-running monopoly on the route between the UK capital and mainland Europe.
FS said that the project, with an earmarked €1 billion, would be carried out in partnership with Spanish firm Evolyn, led by the Cosmen family.
Evolyn announced back in 2023 that it wanted to launch a service between Paris and London. The details of its partnership with FS are not yet finalised.
“This investment is a decisive step forward in FS Group’s vision of building a more integrated, competitive and sustainable European rail network,” Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, FS Group CEO, said in a statement.
“High-speed rail networks are the backbone of efficient and environmentally friendly mobility, and by expanding our presence on key corridors, we are not just investing in infrastructure and innovation, but also in the future of European transport,” he added.
The link between London and Paris could be extended to services via Lille, Ashford, Lyon, Marseilles and Milan, said FS on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after Virgin Group, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, also made a bid to challenge Eurostar’s monopoly last month.
Virgin Group told the Financial Times that it intends to raise £700 million (€820mn) in debt to finance a high frequency service from London to Paris and Brussels, with plans to later extend the route to Amsterdam.
The firm’s plans to run trains along these routes were originally complicated by a spat over an east London rail depot, the only available space to park high-speed cross-Channel trains.
After Eurostar claimed that it had used all available spots, Evolyn and Virgin appealed to the UK’s rail regulator.
In its statement released on Tuesday, FS said that it had received the green light from the UK’s Office of Rail and Road to use the Temple Mills depot.
FS added that it had obtained the necessary licenses and permits in France, and that it was working to increase capacity at St. Pancras. It said that the latter task was “at an advanced stage”.
The Italian firm already runs a high-speed service between Milan and Paris, as well as intercity trains within France.
FS Group also has an established presence in the UK, where it has been present since it acquired train operator c2c in 2017.
Alongside Virgin, FS, and Evolyn, firms Gemini Trains and Deutsche Bahn have expressed interest in accessing the Channel Tunnel route.
Critics of Eurostar’s monopoly argue that increased competition would bring ticket prices down and improve service quality.
