From Cardiff to Cologne in five hours and 35 minutes! Map reveals new route of £1bn cross-Channel high-speed rail service that will get passengers from London to France, Germany and Switzerland in less time than a day at the office
- Spanish firm Evolyn hopes to start rival London to Paris rail service from 2025
- Future direct trains could run from London to Frankfurt, Cologne and Zurich
A rival operator to Eurostar is set to start running London-Paris trains by 2025, raising the chances of future direct trains from the UK to Germany and Switzerland.
Spanish firm Evolyn is buying 12 trains from French manufacturer Alstom, the maker of France's iconic TGV train, for its planned high-speed rail service.
The firm's £1billion investment in the project to run trains under the English Channel aims to challenge Eurostar's monopoly on the route which it has held since 1994.
Evolyn hopes to start London to Paris trains from 2025 before building up to full operation by 2026 – and later extend direct services from the UK to other countries.
While these other destinations have not yet been confirmed, it is thought that they could include direct trains from London to Frankfurt, Cologne, Zurich and Geneva.
The move would make it far easier for Britons to travel beyond Belgium and Paris into Europe by rail, cutting out the need to change if heading to Germany or Switzerland.
To give one example as it stands, rail passengers can travel from Cardiff to Cologne in five hours and 35 minutes, when excluding change time. This includes Cardiff to London Paddington in one hour and 49 minutes; London St Pancras to Brussels in one hour and 56 minutes; and Brussels to Cologne in one hour and 50 minutes.
Eurostar currently runs trains from London to Paris, Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Yann Leriche, chief executive of Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel's parent company Getlink, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Evolyn has indicated that they will start with London to Paris and then extend to other destinations.
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'We don't know yet what these other destinations will be but the arrival of Evolyn will most certainly speed up the opening of new routes to Germany or Switzerland for example.
'Those two countries, Switzerland and Germany, have great potential. So we can expect in the coming years direct services from London to Frankfurt, Cologne, Zurich or Geneva for example.'
Mr Leriche added that Evolyn's emergence into the market was 'great news for customers' and would 'unlock the growth potential of the UK to Europe high speed passenger market'.
He also said: 'There is still room for more than doubling the traffic in the Channel Tunnel, so there is a lot of available capacity for growth.'
Speaking about the timescale, Mr Leriche added: 'Evolyn disclosed that they want to start services in 2025 without any further precision and they will run their service at full speed in 2026.
'So we can expect in the next three years the ramping up of those new services from London to Paris first and then to other destinations in Europe, which is great news.'
Getlink has also said that the tunnel and the rail networks that connect to it are designed to carry more than 20million high-speed passengers across the Channel each year – almost double the current level.
Evolyn said last Wednesday that it had agreed to purchase 12 trains from Alstom, adding that this could be expanded to 16 trains.
Passengers at London St Pancras (pictured) could eventually use direct trains to Germany
An Evolyn spokesman said: 'It would be the first time, after 30 years of Eurostar's monopoly, that a competitor has entered the market.'
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Alstom, whose shares have recently plunged after a cash warning from a slowdown in orders, has confirmed 'being in discussions with Evolyn'.
Evolyn said the total investment in the project is £1billion, and that the trains are expected to start running in 2025, with the service in full operation in 2026.
An Evolyn spokesman added: 'The owners or shareholders of this consortium are French and British partners, both industrialists and investment funds, as well as financiers, and long-standing railway professionals, and international funds interested in the project.'
It has not yet revealed the identity of the project's investors or their participation, because this has not yet been finalised.
Rail expert Mark Smith, founder of the international train guide Seat61.com, told The Independent: 'This proposal appears to have serious financial backing.
'I love Eurostar's service but competition keeps everyone on their toes and keeps prices down – low prices being few and far between on Eurostar at the moment, for various reasons.'
But he added: 'I suspect that 2025 is on the ambitious side given how long rolling stock approvals for three separate authorities will take.'
This is not the first time that a rival operator has wanted to take on Eurostar.
In 2011 there were reports that Deutsche Bahn wanted to start running services between London St Pancras and Brussels from 2013 which would then divide – with one half going to Amsterdam via Rotterdam and another to Frankfurt via Cologne.
After Thalys merged with Eurostar in May last year, Thalys-branded red and white trains are now disappearing and being rebrand as Eurostar across the extended network in Europe
While direct trains from London to Amsterdam via Rotterdam were eventually launched by Eurostar in April 2018, Deutsche Bahn has still not yet run services to London – and there are still no direct trains from London to Germany.
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Sources at Eurostar confirmed to MailOnline today that there are currently no plans for it to run direct services to Germany or Switzerland from London.
However, the situation has changed slightly since Thalys merged with Eurostar in May last year – with Thalys-branded red and white trains now disappearing as of this month and being rebrand as Eurostar across the extended network in Europe.
As part of this, Eurostar has aimed to make it easier for its customers to book to 28 locations now branded as 'Eurostar' destinations on its new website, including several German cities via Brussels.
Eurostar runs a lucrative business connecting London and mainland Europe via high-speed rail, having made a record core profit of €332million (£288million) for 2022.
The company said in June that its London-Netherlands route has seen passenger volumes more than double when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
It was previously revealed that Spanish industrialist family Cosmen, an investor in coach and train company Mobico – formerly National Express – was one of the investors.
But Mobico confirmed last week that it was not part of the consortium.
Getlink said in a statement last week the announcement 'confirms the growth potential of the cross-Channel passenger rail market', adding the infrastructure is designed for almost double the current rail traffic level.
Eurostar's cheapest entry-level fares are currently £78 return, and the operator's chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave says she wants to keep these fares on some off-peak trains
The Channel Tunnel operates on an 'open access' basis, 'meaning that any rail operator can use it to travel between the British and European networks, guaranteeing them an equal right of access', Getlink added.
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Getlink, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Eurotunnel, is the manager of the Channel Tunnel infrastructure.
Reacting to the Evolyn announcement last week, an Alstom spokesman said: 'Alstom and Evolyn have established a short-term agreement to proceed with initial train system engineering activities with the objective of accelerating activities, should the parties eventually enter into a contract for the purchase and delivery of a certain number of trains, provided that Evolyn is capable of securing project financing.
'With regards to potential future delivery dates for new trains, at this time, the final train delivery dates will be confirmed when a firm and final contract will be agreed upon, to be signed at a later date.'
And a Eurostar spokesman told MailOnline today: 'We have seen the announcement, which is not for us to comment on. Our focus remains on growing sustainable travel in Europe, in the context of the new Eurostar launch.
'The new Eurostar provides an exciting new proposition for our customers: a unique, sustainable travel experience and more Europe – with a new rewards programme to enjoy.'
Eurostar's cheapest entry-level fares are currently £78 return. Its chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said earlier this month that she wanted to keep these fares on some off-peak trains. The lowest fare between London and Paris at Eurostar's launch in 1994 was £95 return.
