London-Paris rail rivalry for Eurostar ‘may well happen’ this time

Eurostar may soon face competition after holding a monopoly for rail travel between London and Paris for three decades, according to an internal rail expert

Mark Smith believes the introduction of a rival “keeps everyone on their toes” and would see cuts in fares, telling The Independent: “I’ll believe it when I see it, but this time it may well happen.”

Mr Smith was responding to news that a company named Evolyn has agreed to buy a dozen trains to use between the British and French capitals from 2025 onwards.

Since the first passenger train ran between London Waterloo and Paris Nord in November 1994, Eurostar has had the rail link to itself. The London-Paris flight market, previously the busiest in Europe, collapsed once Eurostar trains were running frequently.

Eurostar switched to London St Pancras International in November 2007, when the High Speed 1 line opened from the station to the entrance to the Channel Tunnel outside Folkestone.

The train operator also serves Brussels and Amsterdam from London, and has merged with Continental operator Thalys to provide connections at the Belgian capital to Germany and the Netherlands.

Over the years, several companies have announced plans to compete with Eurostar. The most serious bid was from Deutsche Bahn (German Railways), which in 2013 ran an intercity express train to St Pancras to promote its planned link to Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

But in 2018, amid Brexit uncertainty, the project was shelved.

Now Evolyn – whose chief executive is the Spanish transport magnate, Jorge Cosmen – aims to begin cross-Channel rail services by 2025.

The company says it is backed by “important British and French industrial and financial partners”. It plans to invest £1bn in 12 Alstom express trains, with an“option to scale up to 16”.

Mr Cosmen said: “We know that the governments of the United Kingdom and France welcome a project that will allow their citizens to increase the connection options between the UK and several countries in continental Europe with a green alternative that will also contribute to decarbonisation.”

Mark Smith, founder of the rail website Seat61.com, said: “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…