Eurostar is calling on potential rivals to invest in new depot facilities, as it insists it “wants to help find solutions” to grow international rail travel.
It made the plea after regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said last month 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 is a critical requirement for companies to launch services competing with Eurostar.
Several organisations developing plans to run trains through the Channel Tunnel hailed the ORR’s announcement, with Virgin Group stating there were “no more major hurdles to overcome” before it can begin operating.
But Eurostar said on Monday a report for the ORR by consultants Ipex does not support operators’ suggestions that “sufficient capacity (at Temple Mills) existed to meet their needs”.
The company stated it is “investing billions of pounds in new trains, stations and facilities”, but its own growth plans “have not yet been considered” by the regulator.
It added that the UK needs a “clear national strategy for supporting international rail” with options beyond Temple Mills.
This could include utilising other depots such as Southeastern and Hitachi’s Ashford Train Maintenance Centre, Dollands Moor Freight Yard and Singlewell Infrastructure Maintenance Depot, all in Kent.
Eurostar’s general secretary Gareth Williams said: “We support competition and growth through international rail, but without serious investment in infrastructure to create more room, we risk not fulfilling the massive potential of sustainable European travel.
“This is an enormously positive problem to solve as the demand and the willing is there.
“Eurostar wants to help find solutions.
“What’s needed now is a big picture vision and investment by any operator who wishes in new depot facilities at Temple Mills and beyond.”
He added: “Eurostar stands ready to collaborate with the Government and the regulator on a framework that will unlock private investment, grow sustainable travel, and deliver world-class rail services for more passengers.”
London St Pancras High Speed, which owns the high-speed line between London and the tunnel, and London St Pancras station, recently announced it will offer reduced charges to operators running additional international services, stating that the line is operating at about 50% capacity.
From London, Eurostar serves Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, as well as running seasonal ski trains to the French Alps.
Getlink – the French owner of the Channel Tunnel – believes there is the potential for services between London and locations such as Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Marseille and Zurich.
