Virgin seeks 900 million euros to compete with Eurostar
This page is translated from the original post "Virgin cherche 900 millions d’euros pour concurrencer Eurostar" in French.
- 09/03/2025 9:28
Virgin Group, led by Sir Richard Branson, plans to launch a high-speed rail service in 2029 to compete with Eurostar.
Brexit and the desire to deregulate everything is not completed, and the fragile financial balance of Eurostar faces a new competitor. This could potentially lead to a collapse.
Virgin Group is eyeing the cross-Channel traffic between London and the capitals of the continent. The English company seeks to raise £700 million, approximately €900 million, to fund this competing project against Eurostar, which has existed for 30 years. The launch of services connecting London to Paris and Brussels is planned as early as 2029, with a future extension to Amsterdam.
In January 2025, Virgin announced its intention to order 12 high-speed trains, for an estimated cost of £500 million, in order to compete with Eurostar. However, challenges remain, including access to the Temple Mills maintenance depot in east London, currently used by Eurostar. Virgin and Evolyn, another Spanish company considering similar services, have lodged complaints with the UK regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), regarding access to this depot.
Stumbling Blocks?
Meanwhile, HS1, the owner of St Pancras station in London, plans to increase passenger capacity to meet the growing demand for high-speed rail travel in Europe. These improvements could facilitate the entry of new operators into the market.
After years of subsidies from France and the United Kingdom, Eurostar is finally doing well. Its financial results are in the green, allowing it to reduce heavy debt and consider the future… without competition from Virgin. Indeed, to maintain its special status, Eurostar seems willing to invest heavily: 50 new TGVs by 2030 aiming for 30 million annual passengers.
However, another rival even bigger than Virgin Group has come across Eurostar’s tracks in the spring of 2025: the introduction of an electronic travel authorization (ETA) of about 12 euros per European traveler to visit the United Kingdom. Europe is set to respond with an equivalent system, charging British travelers about 7 euros.
That could be enough to deter tourists. Sometimes it takes very little for everything to collapse.
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