Virgin Trains is BACK! And ready to take on Eurostar…

Eurostar has been a feature of the UK railway landscape since 1994. But in all that time it has been the monopoly provider – and the cracks began to show some time ago. The reduction in routes, the closure of Ebbsfleet and Ashford, the fact that Stratford International has never been used for Eurostar services and what consumers say are unjustifiably sky-high prices have all added to the clamour for competition to shake things up.

That day got a lot closer last week, when the Office of Rail and Road said that it would be directing Eurostar to allow Virgin Trains to use Temple Mills International depot, the key that unlocks the competition opportunity.

In this video we speak with Jon Worth, an acknowledged expert on all matters channel tunnel rail and European rail services to unpack what has happened, why it’s a big deal and what happens next.

We also have an exclusive interview with Phil Whittingham, Project Lead at Virgin Group who has led Virgin to this point and must now get all the hard work done to be able to start services in 2030. And we talk to Diccon Spain, the Spokesperson and Political Liaison Officer for the very high profile ‘Bring Back Euro Trains’ to Ashford and Ebbsfleet campaign. We discuss whether that aspiration is now any closer to reality.

This discussion goes far further than anything else that has been reported since the ORR’s announcement. We don’t just repeat the press statements – but go deep into what has happened and why, and why there are still many questions to be answered.

In this episode:
00:00 Intro
01:18 What about the bidders that didn't win?
05:00 Virgin Trains interview
14:02 Analysis of Virgin's plans
21:24 Diccon Spain on Ashford and Ebbsfleet
36:02 Analysis of additional stops
43:26 Is there more to come from Trenitalia?
56:55 Summary of what's happened

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Credits:
Thumbnail image - Virgin Trains
Presenters - Nigel Harris (@railnigel on X) & Richard Bowker CBE (@SRichardBowker). General Manager: Stef Foster (@stefatrail)

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