Eurostar routes could see double-decker trains
Double-decker trains could be running through the Channel Tunnel in the coming years as part of proposals from the French rolling stock giant Alstom alongside Eurostar.
Chief executive Henri Poupart-Lafarge told the Financial Times the trains would increase traffic on routes between London and Europe, which are traditionally operated by Eurostar.
“The double-decker train has a lot of advantages. It’s a very high-speed train with the lowest cost per seat and the highest capacity.”
The trains would run at speeds of over 300km/h and Alstom has already signed contracts to provide them for SNCF, France’s national railway operator.
But the plans are still contingent on approval from regulators and the operator of the Channel Tunnel, which may take “some years,” Poupart-Lafarge added.
It comes amid increasing demand for European rail routes as leisure travel booms in the post-Covid era.
Eurostar carried a record 19.5m passengers last year and has ambitions to reach the 30m mark by 2030, according to its latest report.
Eurostar challenger
It is facing a challenge to its 30-year cross-channel monopoloy from a number of firms, including Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and the Spanish start-up Evolyn.
Poupart-Lafarge did not share details on commercial discussions with the Financial Times, however he conceded an order “would take years.”
“We can propose [the train] through the tunnel,” he said. “Whether it’s Eurostar or other competitors, we’ll see.”
Alstom reported a 4.7 per cent increase in its total order book to €19.8bn (£16.7bn) in the year to March 31, a sign of the strong demand sweeping across Europe.
Alstom launched a €1bn capital raise earlier in May as part of wider plans to trim its debt pile. It also sold off its US signalling business and a German rail factory to the defence firm KNDS.
Poupart-Lafarge told the FT its debt challenges “seemed to be water under the bridge.”