Third Eurostar challenger steps up
A third operator seeking to challenge Eurostar’s monopoly on Channel Tunnel services has been announced.
Gemini said on Monday it had submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regulator for access to Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot, which is the only place in the UK to park and maintain high-speed, cross-Channel trains.
Services will initially run between London and Paris/Brussels, but additional destinations are currently in the pipeline.
The company, which is chaired by industry veteran Lord Tony Berkeley, said it had attracted a “highly experienced team of rail executives and creative thinkers” who are committed to bring open access services to the cross-channel route.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on the Channel Tunnel route since its opening in 1994. However, a number of open-access challengers have emerged in recent years, promising competitive fares and more frequent services.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Evolyn, a Spanish firm backed by the largest shareholder of Mobico, have also submitted applications to the ORR.
There are rumoured to be at least five companies interested in the route and the Channel Tunnel’s operator Getlink has said it would like to see spare capacity filled.
“Our team has real strength, depth, vision and dynamism and is superbly placed to offer customers choice on what is currently a monopoly route,” Gemini chair Lord Berkeley said.
Chief executive Adrian Quine said: “The high-speed line connecting London and the continent through the Channel Tunnel is one of the great rail routes.
“With a whole new generation now choosing trains over planes, there is a great opportunity to bring real entrepreneurial flair and dynamism with competitive fares to Europe’s premier route”.