Virgin upgrades Eurostar rival plans with cross-Channel train route from Manchester

Virgin has cranked up its game in the race to end Eurostar’s decades-long monopoly of cross-Channel rail services.

As it bids to secure a sought-after deal to run services between the UK and mainland Europe, Sir Richard Branson’s company is now believed to be considering routes from Birmingham and Manchester.

These additional stops would offer potential growth above its current proposal to launch trains from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, with potential for additional destinations in Germany and Switzerland, within the next five years.

And according to The Telegraph, Virgin is hoping these regional stops will help garner approval from the Department for Transport, which is expected to issue a ruling on approved Eurostar competitors later this month.

Branson previously hinted at this in a submission to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in July, where he claimed his firm would explore ways ‘to enhance onward connectivity to the wider UK rail network’ were it to be chosen by the regulator.

Through this expansion into the north of England, Virgin Trains – which successfully operated across major cities including Birmingham and Manchester between 1997 and 2019 – could capitalise on increased public brand awareness compared to foreign bidders Trenitalia France, Evolyn, and Gemini Trains.

It comes after Virgin recently signed a deal for 12 high-speed Avelia Stream trains, aiming to use the rolling stock – from French train manufacturer Alstom – for journeys through the Channel Tunnel by 2030.

The plan was revealed in the company’s submission to the ORR for permission to run services on HS1, the high-speed line from London St Pancras to Kent and on through the Tunnel.

The submission, which suggests that Virgin is the only applicant that has secured funding and trains, is the first significant challenge to Eurostar’s dominance of the Channel Tunnel since it began operating in 1994.

Virgin first announced plans to take on Eurostar in January.

After the ORR confirmed that Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot – a crucial piece of infrastructure, where trains are maintained and stored – could be used by other operators, a Virgin spokesperson said there were ‘no more major hurdles to overcome’ in its bid to offer an alternative for travellers.

Alongside improving choice for passengers, Metro understands that the company’s aim is to inject some joy into their journey across the Channel, which suggests the onboard experience itself will be a priority for the firm.

In an effort to win over Eurostar customers, Virgin will also be sweetening the pot, with bookings connected to its Group-wide rewards programme, Virgin Red.

But Branson’s iconic brand isn’t the only one with ambitions.

Gemini Trains has also confirmed plans to launch a fleet of 10 trains from the UK to Europe, while Spanish start-up Evolyn and alternative passenger rail operator Trenitalia France are also in the running, according to DfT documents.

Rail fares between the UK and France have soared since the pandemic, but all of this moving and shaking suggests passengers can soon look forward to a change in the game.

‘Any competition is good competition, and a new player would obviously help to bring rail fares down,’ Zoe Adjey, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of East London, previously told Metro.

She says it’s high time that the UK levels up its rail services, both at home and abroad.

‘When you think back 30 years ago when we first got Eurostar at Waterloo, you should have been able to move to Manchester at the same speed – that never happened,’ she notes.

‘The rail industry hasn’t done what they were supposed to be doing.’

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