Sir Richard Branson has been urged to rethink his plan to run trains through the Channel Tunnel, after the rail minister said rival bids to Eurostar must commit to serving Kent and east London stations.
Virgin Group is one of several operators hoping to break Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly on the route, but Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill warned that proposals focused solely on London St Pancras risk falling short.
Speaking at an event in Ashford, Kent, Lord Hendy said bidders must show “the potential for services to be reinstated” at Stratford International, Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations – a move he said could add £500m a year to the visitor economy.
Eurostar dropped calls at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in 2020 and has never served Stratford, but border facilities remain in place at the Kent stations.
Virgin’s blueprint involves direct trains from St Pancras to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from 2030, with possible future expansion deeper into France, Germany and Switzerland. Spanish operator Evolyn, which has teamed up with Italy’s Trenitalia, has a similar St Pancras-only plan.
By contrast, newcomer Gemini Trains – which has struck a marketing deal with Uber – wants Stratford as its London terminus and a stop at Ebbsfleet. Its chief executive, Adrian Quine, argued this would give Gemini a catchment of nearly 20 million people, thanks to 5,000 parking spaces and links to the M25 and the new Lower Thames Crossing.
“Virgin is just copying Eurostar,” Quine said, insisting Gemini’s inclusion of Kent stations gave it a decisive edge.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which regulates Channel Tunnel access, is due to decide by the end of October which operator can use limited maintenance capacity at Temple Mills depot in east London. Virgin, Gemini, Evolyn and Trenitalia are all in the running, alongside Eurostar’s own bid to retain exclusivity.
Lord Hendy has written to the ORR stressing that its evaluation should not be limited to depot logistics but must also weigh the economic impact of serving Kent stations.
Virgin declined to comment on the minister’s remarks.
