As the discussion about future rivals to Eurostar has heated up, so more and more of the focus has been on access to the Temple Mills depot in East London. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) last week decided that yes, there was capacity for a company other than […]
#CrossChannelRail
All about 2 metres? The importance of the difference between a 200m and a 202m train is scarcely plausible
When discussing the future of long distance services through the Channel Tunnel, we generally talk of 400 metre long trains composed of one unit, and 2x 200m trains composed of two units coupled together. But when you drill down to the detail, these numbers are approximations. Eurostar’s original Class 373 […]
ORR grants Virgin Trains access to Temple Mills: the low risk option
The UK’s Office of Rail and Road has today decided that Virgin Trains should have access to the Temple Mills depot in east London to maintain its future Channel Tunnel fleet, and has rejected applications from Trenitalia, Gemini and Evolyn to use the facility. It has also, importantly, rejected Eurostar’s […]
Working out what Eurostar is going to do – based on the numbers, not what the company says
If you take what Eurostar has said in its press release, Alstom has said in its press release, and what has appeared in the FT and The Guardian among others yesterday, you end up with the impression that these Avelia Horizon double deck trains Eurostar is to order from Alstom […]
Eurostar ordering just 30 Alstom trains: pragmatism, and a lack of ambition
Put all the rhetoric to one side. In announcing today they are ordering 30 Alstom Avelia Horizon (TGV-M) double decker trains (see the FT here), with only options for 20 more, Eurostar is being less ambitious than has been rumoured for more than a year, where the talk was of […]
What train other than Alstom Avelia Horizon could Eurostar even consider?
Back in June I wondered why – despite it being heavily rumoured for more than a year – Eurostar still had not signed a deal with Alstom for the purchase of 50 Avelia Horizon double deck high speed trains. These trains are to be called TGV-M in France, while Avelia […]
