Latest news with #FSItalianeGroup
Western Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Channel Tunnel train services to be increased
It said it will allocate spare capacity at Eurostar's Temple Mills maintenance depot in north-east London to either one new operator or Eurostar itself, which has plans to grow. Eurostar holds a monopoly in running passenger services through the Channel Tunnel. Other organisations developing proposals to launch rival services include billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Italy's state-owned railway company FS Italiane Group, and Gemini Trains, which is chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley. Access to depot space for maintaining and storing trains is a critical requirement for new operators or Eurostar to boost services. From London St Pancras, Eurostar serves Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, as well as running seasonal ski trains to the French Alps. Getlink – the French owner of the Channel Tunnel – believes there is the potential for services between London and locations such as Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Marseille and Zurich. The ORR's deputy director for access and international, Martin Jones, said: 'The growing appetite to provide international rail services is great news for passengers. 'We now need operators to set out more detail on their proposals at pace, and will work quickly and as thoroughly as possible to determine the best use of capacity at Temple Mills.' The regulator said it expects to reach a conclusion later this year.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New potential Eurostar rival emerges
A co-owner of Avanti West Coast has emerged as another potential rival to Eurostar in running passenger trains between London and Paris. FS Italiane Group said it plans to launch services through the Channel Tunnel by 2029. It is proposing to use trains inspired by its Frecciarossa high-speed rolling stock. FS Italiane Group has committed to investing one billion euro (£857 million) to support its ambition of expanding its European network. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Spanish company Evolyn to potentially develop a partnership. Evolyn previously announced it was bidding to launch services rivalling Eurostar, as was billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Gemini, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley. FS Italiane Group chief executive Stefano Antonio Donnarumma said: 'High-speed rail networks are the backbone of efficient and environmentally friendly mobility, and by expanding our presence on key corridors, we are not just investing in infrastructure and innovation, but also in the future of European transport. 'More competition will help to create a more efficient and customer-oriented industry, offering a real alternative to air travel.' Any new Channel Tunnel operator will need to obtain regulator approval. FS Italiane Group said it is 'studying further opportunities' for London to Paris services to call at Ashford, Kent. Eurostar stopped calling at the station in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said last month that some capacity at Eurostar's Temple Mills maintenance depot in north-east London could be made available to other operators. Access to a suitable depot for maintaining and storing trains has been cited by the industry as a critical requirement for operators to compete with Eurostar. Eurostar holds a monopoly in running passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994. FS Italiane Group's subsidiary Trenitalia owns 30% of Avanti West Coast, and runs c2c, which operates between the City of London and south Essex. Earlier this moth, London St Pancras Highspeed – which owns the station in the capital and the high-speed tracks to the tunnel – announced it will offer reduced charges to operators running additional international services.
The Independent
08-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New potential Eurostar rival emerges
A co-owner of Avanti West Coast has emerged as another potential rival to Eurostar in running passenger trains between London and Paris. FS Italiane Group said it plans to launch services through the Channel Tunnel by 2029. It is proposing to use trains inspired by its Frecciarossa high-speed rolling stock. FS Italiane Group has committed to investing one billion euro (£857 million) to support its ambition of expanding its European network. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Spanish company Evolyn to potentially develop a partnership. Evolyn previously announced it was bidding to launch services rivalling Eurostar, as was billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Gemini, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley. FS Italiane Group chief executive Stefano Antonio Donnarumma said: 'High-speed rail networks are the backbone of efficient and environmentally friendly mobility, and by expanding our presence on key corridors, we are not just investing in infrastructure and innovation, but also in the future of European transport. 'More competition will help to create a more efficient and customer-oriented industry, offering a real alternative to air travel.' Any new Channel Tunnel operator will need to obtain regulator approval. FS Italiane Group said it is 'studying further opportunities' for London to Paris services to call at Ashford, Kent. Eurostar stopped calling at the station in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said last month that some capacity at Eurostar's Temple Mills maintenance depot in north-east London could be made available to other operators. Access to a suitable depot for maintaining and storing trains has been cited by the industry as a critical requirement for operators to compete with Eurostar. Eurostar holds a monopoly in running passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994. FS Italiane Group's subsidiary Trenitalia owns 30% of Avanti West Coast, and runs c2c, which operates between the City of London and south Essex. Earlier this moth, London St Pancras Highspeed – which owns the station in the capital and the high-speed tracks to the tunnel – announced it will offer reduced charges to operators running additional international services.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
London to Paris or Milan? Eurostar rival sets out new plans for high-speed European links from St Pancras
Italy's national rail operator has announced plans to take on Eurostar by running high-speed trains between London and Paris by 2029. It is also considering further extensions of the route to Lille, Lyon, Marseilles and Milan – and could also see trains stopping at Ashford in Kent, which has not been used by Eurostar since the start of the pandemic. The announcement is the latest to boost hopes of a major breakthrough in cross-Channel rail travel. Last week The Standard revealed the hopes of the boss of St Pancras station to have a 'turn up and go' service that enabled travellers to arrive 15 minutes before their train departed. The FS Italiane Group, also known as Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, already holds a 30 per cent stake in Avanti West Coast, the long-distance operator on the West Coast Main Line, and owns the c2c railway between Fenchurch Street and Essex through its subsidiary Trenitalia. Earlier this month the FS Group reopened its spectacular Frecciarossa Paris to Milan service across the Alps. The route had been blocked by a major landslide two years ago. The firm, which is the first 'alternative operator' on the French high-speed network, also operates a 'shuttle service' between Paris and Lyon and will launch a Frecciarossa connection between Paris and Marseilles on June 15. The possibility of rival train firms entering the cross-Channel route from St Pancras have increased with the indication from the Office of Rail and Road that there may be spare capacity at the Government-owned Temple Mills train depot in Leyton for other operators in addition to Eurostar. FS Italiane Group said it had signed a 'memorandum of understanding' with the Spanish rail firm Evolyn, which went public in 2023 with its plans to operate international trains from St Pancras. However Evolyn has fallen behind in its initial aim to start running services from 2025. It is not clear whether it will now merge its plans with those from the FS Group or whether the two firms will remain separate but work together. A merger would place the new partnership in competition with the Virgin group to be the first to run trains in competition with Eurostar. The FS Group said it was investing a billion euros in building a 'more integrated, competitive, and sustainable European rail network'. The new London to Paris service would use Frecciarossa-inspired trains, which run in Italy with a top speed of 186mph (300kmph). The aim is to lure air passengers to the railway using high-speed international trains. Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, FS Group chief executive, said: 'This investment is a decisive step forward in FS Group's vision of building a more integrated, competitive and sustainable European rail network. 'High-speed rail networks are the backbone of efficient and environmentally friendly mobility, and by expanding our presence on key corridors, we are not just investing in infrastructure and innovation, but also in the future of European transport. 'More competition will help to create a more efficient and customer-oriented industry, offering a real alternative to air travel.'
