First look at the new Virgin Trains that will take Brits from UK to France, Belgium and Netherlands
BRITS could soon be heading to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam with Virgin Trains – and now, there is a first glimpse at the trains that will be used.
Virgin Trains has revealed more details about services it hopes to run to Europe from 2030, with cheaper tickets and potential Manchester and Birmingham routes.
Back in October, Virgin Trains revealed that it had been granted permission by the Office of Rail and Road to access Temple Mills depot in East London.
The approval essentially means that the operator is a step closer to launching cross-channel services that will eventually rival Eurostar.
Though precise details of schedules and ticket prices have yet to be revealed, Virgin Trains has said it plans to initially use 12 trains for the European service, each of which will have seven carriages.
The operator has made an agreement with Alstom for these trains, which will be Avelia Stream trains – energy-efficient and modern, according to Virgin.
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And they will feature Virgin’s famous red and white colours.
Current planned routes include London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels Midi and Amsterdam Centraal.
And Virgin is planning for 20 services a day, with 13 to Paris, four to Brussels and three to Amsterdam.
Unlike Eurostar, Virgin is also looking at stopping at Ebbsfleet or Ashford in Kent, which are currently not used for international services.
And in the future, there could be services from Manchester or Birmingham and services to Switzerland and/or Germany.
What exactly Virgin Trains will look like at London St Pancras is yet to be revealed, but Virgin has said that it will “improve the experience” for passengers.
Richard Branson has previously said he wants a direct service from London to Charles de Gaulle Airport.
He also mentioned hopes to launch a route to Disneyland Paris, which Eurostar used to have a route to but axed it in 2023.
The main benefit for passengers, though, could be the potentially cheaper tickets as Virgin has expressed on a number of occasions how fares are likely to be competitive, or even cheaper, than current Eurostar tickets.
According to Eurostar, its lowest fare between London and Paris is £39.
However, looking at current prices, the cheapest fare in the next six weeks is £51.
Whilst the prices for Virgin Trains tickets are not clear yet, Branson said last month: “If you have competition, then fares will inevitably come down.
“If we’ve got seats that need selling, we will reduce the cost of them.”
Passengers on Virgin Trains may also be able to collect Virgin Red loyalty points when they book through Virgin, as they do with Virgin Atlantic flights.
Before services are able to launch, Virgin Trains needs to form a commercial agreement with Eurostar (the current operator of Temple Mills), secure finance, access to tracks and stations and gain safety approvals from the ORR and authorities in the EU.
The Channel Tunnel is currently only used by Eurostar and LeShuttle.
However, a report over the summer revealed there is capacity for more trains to access the Temple Mills depot, which is essential for cross-channel services.
At the time of the announcement in October, Martin Jones, deputy director, access and international at the Office of Rail and Road said: “With this decision we are backing customer choice and competition in international rail, unlocking up to £700million in private sector investment and stimulating growth.
“While there is still some way to go before the first new services can run, we stand ready to work with Virgin Trains as their plans develop.”
In other rail news, a traditional English seaside town named one of the best in the UK is getting new direct London trains.
Plus, the low-cost train launching more routes between two popular UK cities – and tickets are £33.