Virgin deal could bring international trains back to Ashford and Ebbsfleet
Trains travelling from Europe may once again stop at Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations following Virgin Trains’ approval to run a rival service through the Channel Tunnel.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the UK’s railway regulator, recently granted Virgin Trains access to the depot, ending the monopoly of the Eurostar on services travelling between the UK and Europe through the channel tunnel.
This deal creates the opportunity for Virgin Trains, and potentially other operators in future, to run services that stop at Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International, both of which lie on the original Eurostar service route.
These stations have not been serviced by Eurostar since 2020 due to the advent of Brexit and the pandemic, which greatly reduced demand for travel to and from Europe.
The OOR said the approval of Virgin Trains is a win for customer choice and passengers, leading to the creation of 400 new jobs and around £700 million of investment.
It said that Virgin Trains has the strongest prospects of making the best use of the capacity at the Temple Mills depot, stating that its plans were more robust than other applicants and it had both investor backing and an agreement in principle to deliver rolling stock.
The office noted, though, that while this provides the potential for Virgin Trains to run international services that call at Ashford and Ebbsfleet, it is completely up to Virgin Trains to decide which destinations to serve.
In a statement to Kent Online, Virgin said that it was in discussions about its international services stopping at Ebbsfleet and Ashford.
The company told the publication that if the strations were to be reopened, then Virgin Trains services would stop at these stations as it set out in its initial submission to the ORR.
Virgin Trains to run international services by 2030
Virgin Trains must now enter an agreement with Eurostar, which operates Temple Mills, and must secure various access and safety approvals along with finance before commencing services.
In a post on the Virgin blog, co-founder Richard Branson said this decision by the ORR a crucial step towards introducing competition through the Channel Tunnel.
“It’s time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route,” Branson said.
“I’ve always believed competition drives innovation, and that’s exactly what we will bring to the Channel Tunnel.”
“Our ambition is to connect London St Pancras International with Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam by 2030, with plans to expand even further across Europe.”
