The prospect of competing firms including Virgin running trains through the Channel tunnel has come a step closer after the rail regulator said Eurostar should make space in a critical depot.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group said the statement by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) meant there were “no more major hurdles to overcome” in its plan to operate passenger trains between the UK and Europe.
The ORR made its statement after receiving an independent report it commissioned to investigate the issue. However, Eurostar said the report showed that finding space in the depot would be “hugely costly and disruptive” and would not free up capacity for the future growth plans of the three potential new operators.
The ORR said some capacity at Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot in north-east London could be made available to other operators. Access to a suitable depot for maintaining and storing trains has been cited by the industry as a critical requirement for companies to compete with Eurostar.
The regulator said: “Eurostar’s London depot would be able, if required, to accommodate additional trains.”
It added: “Changes to operational and maintenance arrangements at the depot, as well as possible alterations to infrastructure, would be required to access extra capacity and allow more trains to be stabled/maintained there.”
Eurostar holds a monopoly on running passenger services through the Channel tunnel, which opened in 1994.
Virgin, which has previously operated intercity trains in Britain on the two main lines between London and Scotland, plans to start rail services connecting London with Paris and Brussels. It also hopes to run trains to Amsterdam. Earlier this month it said it was raising £700m to fund the plan.
A Virgin Group spokesperson said: “Finally a green signal for competition. The Temple Mills depot is the only facility in the UK which can accommodate European-style trains and claims suggesting it was at capacity have been blocking Virgin from coming to the line.
“Virgin is therefore very pleased with the outcome … There are no more major hurdles to overcome.” It added: “We expect to be able to make an announcement very soon.”
Gemini Trains, chaired by the Labour peer Tony Berkeley, and the Spanish startup Evolyn are also hoping to run trains through the tunnel.
Eurostar said the ORR-commissioned report “confirms” that the depot was “effectively almost full today for major maintenance work and would require investment to meet the growing demands of international rail”.
It added: “The options presented in the report could help create some capacity, but this would not be enough to accommodate the stated ambitions of any single operator.”
The Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the ORR statement. Its chief executive, Ben Plowden, said: “Much of the great potential of the Channel tunnel is currently untapped, so while there are further hurdles to clear, we are very glad that the reality of new services is closer than ever.”
According to new research from the charity, current growth trends and potential modal shift should mean demand for international rail from the UK more than doubles by 2040.
Separately on Monday, Network Rail’s boss, Andrew Haines, announced his retirement amid a government overhaul of the sector. He will leave the company in October after seven years in the role.
The functions of Network Rail, which manages railway infrastructure, will be taken over by Great British Railways, a new state-owned company. The government is consulting on policies to be included in the forthcoming railways bill that will enable the establishment of GBR. Thousands of jobs could go as part of the planned shake-up.
