Four problems Eurostar’s double-decker trains face ...Middle East

Of the five companies with intentions to operate on the high-speed line through the Channel Tunnel, only Eurostar – which has had the monopoly for the past 30 years – has put in an order for new trains for use on the London St Pancras Highspeed line.

Its order of 30 Alstom Avelia Horizon trains means that it would be the first time double-deckers have operated from London to the continent under the Channel. The 200m trains will enter service from May 2031.

Replacing an ageing Thalys fleet

However, independent railway commentator Jon Worth cautions that this order could be deployed elsewhere on the network. Eurostar stated its intention to order up to 50 new trains in May 2024, which would “eventually operate alongside Eurostar’s current fleet of 17 e320s, providing a total fleet of up to 67 trains.”

Eurostar merged with Thalys in 2023, and it is the latter’s rebranded trains, which came into service in the mid- to late-1990s, that Worth says “are most in need of replacement.” By contrast, Eurostar’s newest trains were delivered in 2010.

Of Eurostar’s 26 trains in operation on the continent, “the order of 30 200m long Avelia Horizon is just basically replacing the ex-Thalys fleet”, says Worth.

Eurostar says that it plans to maintain the entire fleet, including the new Avelia Horizon trains, at the Temple Mills depot in London, “which would be developed to accommodate the new trains at a cost of around €80m.”

Competition at Temple Mills

However, four competitors have put in applications to use capacity at Temple Mills with a decision expected from The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) later this month.

The most likely competitor to Eurostar is Trenitalia France, which already has an existing order for 30 Frecciarossa high-speed trains for use on its cross-border network, due for delivery next year.

Some of these Frecciarossa could be deployed through the Channel Tunnel if the operator is given the green light by the ORR.

Virgin Trains has plans to order a dozen Avelia Stream trains from Alstom to operate under the Channel, while Gemini Trains is “working very closely with Siemens to deliver new trains to run from London to Paris, Brussels andCologne.”

This amounts to 10 new generation Siemens Velaro Novo trains, similar to the sets currently used by Eurostar. Gemini has an agreement to brand these as Uber trains.

Spanish firm Evolyn is also in discussion with Alstom, for Avelia Horizon double-decker trains. However, no order has as yet been put in place.

Channel Tunnel safety requirements

Any train using the Channel Tunnel must also comply with safety and evacuation requirements. A spokesperson for Eurotunnel told The i Paper: “All new-generation trains proposed to operate in the Channel Tunnel, including double-deckers, are designed to be fully compatible with the existing infrastructure and will meet all regulatory and technical requirements.

“Eurostar will develop the safety certification for its new trains, ensuring full integration with the safety and evacuation protocols on our infrastructure.”

Station capacity in London and Europe

There is also the question of station capacity. Double decker trains are efficient – Eurostar’s new Celestia trains will increase seat capacity by 20 per cent on each train, with around 1,080 seats per service according to Eurostar projections.

St Pancras International already faces capacity challenges, but has plans for development to ease congestion. It is working with Eurostar on a three-phase approach, which includes short-term improvements within the current footprint to deliver an uplift of 2,700 passengers per hour in the next three to four years.

The new Entry-Exit System (EES) kiosks in operation out at the station are based on current passenger capacity, but future expansion will require a rethink.

By 2028, St Pancras intends to improve the international area’s connection to the main concourse, and around the time Eurostar’s new trains are delivered, it will explore relocating the flow of arrivals upstairs.

A spokesperson for London St Pancras Highspeed told The i Paper that it is “identifying various opportunities to increase current capacity of 2,000 travellers an hour to nearly 5,000.”

They added: “There is sufficient capacity to welcome competition and to increase utilisation of the high-speed line. However, clear decisions by regulators and government are needed to be made to ensure we can enable this utilisation and prevent any delay to market development that will deliver economic growth.”

In Paris, plans to expand the Gare du Nord were cancelled in 2021, but a modernisation plan for the 2024 Olympic Games added 100 new seats for Eurostar customers in the cross-Channel terminal.

The Eurostar terminal at Brussels-Midi is undergoing renovations, but wider expansion at the station has been paused. In Amsterdam, a new and bigger Eurostar terminal was unveiled earlier this summer as part of major station works, but there are no plans for further expansion.

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