London could see new direct trains to Germany, Switzerland and beyond
Plans to increase passenger numbers at London's St Pancras International station could see many new direct train routes to Germany, Switzerland and France.
The station's owner, London St Pancras Highspeed, has this week outlined proposals to almost triple its international train operations from 1,800 passengers per hour to 5,000.
The proposal, in partnership with Paris' Getlink (which owns Eurotunnel), sees both companies commit to expanding rail connectivity on both sides of the English Channel — with the aim of creating new routes and destinations along the line.
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London St Pancras Highspeed also operates the Channel Tunnel track in Folkestone, England, which serves as Eurostar's access point to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Expanding cross-channel rail traffic could mean that travelers will one day be able to hop on a train in London and disembark at destinations such as Bordeaux and Marseille, France; Frankfurt and Cologne, Germany; Geneva; and Zurich.
"We are keen to drive forward attractive opportunities for low-carbon mobility with a range of new destinations in Germany, Switzerland and France," said Yann Leriche, CEO of Getlink. "This partnership with London St Pancras Highspeed is an essential catalyst for accelerating this growth momentum."
At present, Eurostar largely operates the Channel Tunnel's services that have been connecting travelers between the U.K. and Europe since 1994.
With more services operating through the Channel Tunnel, it's hoped that this will encourage other rail operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations.
"London St Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel have an important role to play as key infrastructure managers to actively work together to encourage new and existing train operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations," said Robert Sinclair, CEO of London St Pancras Highspeed.
While there isn't currently a timeline for when we might see increased services, Virgin Group and Evolyn are two companies known to be developing rival services that will compete with Eurostar along the Channel Tunnel track.
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