Huge boost for Brits as UK railway station set to get first direct trains to Europe in nearly a decade
And the three other train operators wanting to take on Eurostar
ON TRACK Huge boost for Brits as UK railway station set to get first direct trains to Europe in nearly a decade
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A MAJOR UK train station could get new routes to Europe again - five years after they were scrapped.
Ebbsfleet International in Kent used to be a stopping station for Eurostar.
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A railway station in Kent could get international trains again - the first in nearly a decade
Credit: Alamy
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Ebbsfleet International used to be a stopping station for Eurostar
Credit: Alamy
This included six trains a day to Paris and Brussels as well as four trains a week to Disneyland Paris.
However, these were suspended back in 2020 due to the pandemic, with them yet to be restored.
The station is now only currently used by HS1 between London and Kent.
But Eurostar rival Gemini - who recently confirmed they had partnered with Uber - has revealed plans to stop at the station when they launch their new routes.
Gemini CEO Adrian Quine told the BBC: "It's very important because Eurostar no longer stop in Kent and there's eight million people who live in the south-east of England, outside the M25, for whom having a direct service to the continent is extremely important.
"Ebbsfleet is a perfect station. It's designed for international traffic, it's got a massive car park, it's very well connected via the road network and it's connected to the rest of Kent via the HS1 service.
"We're proposing every train stops there."
The new European route is likely to start from 2029, nearly a decade after the station stopped having international train services.
And Gemini also revealed plans to operate from Stratford International Station rather than London St Pancras.
If this goes ahead, it would be the first time the station ever has trains to Europe, despite being an "international" station.
Top 5 Picturesque Train Journeys in Europe
This also means it would have to undergo huge infrastructure improvements to be able to handle passport and security control.
Until then, Brits can only hop on a train to Europe from St Pancras, with Eurostar also suspending routes via Ashford International during the pandemic.
International routes from the Kent train station are unlikely to return anytime soon, with a Eurostar spokesperson saying they would "look into it" again in 2026.
And it's not just Gemini wanting to take on Eurostar.
Start up operator Evolyn announced plans for trains between London and Paris back in 2023.
Earlier this year, FS Italiane Group said they wanted to launch a new train service between London and Paris by 2029.
And Virgin also wants to launch UK-Europe routes, with plans to buy 12 trains, costing £500million.
Here are seven European cities that could get a direct train route from the UK in the future.
And we've rounded up the four Eurostar routes that have been scrapped in recent years.
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