Virgin Trains has been granted track access by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to run services between London and Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, breaking Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly on cross-Channel passenger rail services.
Virgin Trains is approved to operate as many as 20 daily return trains on the High Speed 1 line from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel. The track access approval covers the period from 1 October 2030 to 31 December 2040. The company plans to use the same stations in Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam currently served by Eurostar.
Virgin Trains was granted access in 2025
to share Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in east London to maintain and store its trains. However, the company still needs to secure access rights for the Channel Tunnel and the mainland European rail networks, as well as obtain safety approvals from the ORR and relevant EU regulators before launching services.
The Virgin Group will invest £700 million in the cross-Channel project and expects to create about 400 jobs in the UK. Eurostar, controlled by the French rail operator SNCF and the only passenger rail operator through the Channel Tunnel since its 1994 opening, has reduced its international network over the
past decade and faced criticism for high prices. It is currently introducing new double-decker trains and aims to carry 30 million passengers a year.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, said it is “time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route.” A Virgin Group spokesperson stated: “Our plans for a new London – Europe rail service from 2030 are moving at pace. We welcome the ORR’s pre-approval of our track access agreement and the opportunity to bring competition and Virgin’s award-winning customer experience to the Channel tunnel.” Martin Jones, Deputy Director of
Access and International at ORR, said: “This is an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services, and we welcome the progress Virgin Trains and London St Pancras High Speed have made. While there is still more work to do, we are supporting Virgin and the wider industry to grow international services.” An Eurostar spokesperson said: “This confirms the huge potential for growth in international rail and the ambition across the industry to bring more passengers to Europe by train. Eurostar will play a full part in that growth, and our focus remains
on delivering our own ambitious plans, investing in our fleet and carrying 30 million passengers a year.”
The entry of Virgin Trains into international routes responds to growing demand for rail travel from the UK to Europe. Eurostar’s international network has contracted in the past decade, while a UK-German taskforce is studying direct links from London to Berlin, reflecting wider ambitions for expanding European high-speed rail connectivity.
