Company plans direct trains between London, Frankfurt and Geneva through the Eurotunnel

Cazenave acknowledged that the opening of new international railway routes will require “time, investments, expertise, a huge amount of energy and partnerships”, but says there is no doubt that new direct services will come true, given the expectations of Eurostar, passengers and governments.

Last month, the United Kingdom and Switzerland signed a memorandum of understanding with the objective of establishing direct rail services between the two countries.

Eurostar intends to operate the new trains along with its current 17 E320 models.

London’s lines from London serve cities such as Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, as well as the French Alps during the skiing season in European winter. The operator also offers services in other regions of Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Its trains carried 19.5 million passengers last year, up 5% compared to 18.6 million of 2023.

Eurostar won a 2% increase in revenue last year, reaching 2 billion euros, and registered a profit of 346 million euros. Most of the company belongs to French state rail. The United Kingdom sold its participation in Eurostar to private companies in 2015.

Increased competition

Other companies have recently announced plans to break the Eurostar monopoly on train services between the UK and France through the Eurotunnel.