Eurostar urges St Pancras expansion as France rail competition grows

Eurostar, the SNCF-owned company operating passenger trains through the Channel Tunnel, is urging UK authorities to press on with plans to expand the London terminal at St Pancras station to resolve bottlenecks.

Eurostar, facing competition for the first time from 2030, told decision-makers at an event in London in July that both St Pancras and Gare du Nord in Paris are too small to accommodate an increase in international travellers.

Italian company Trenitalia plans to start running trains through the tunnel in 2029 with 10 return services a day.

Virgin has said it will launch services in 2030.

New competition and investment

Last year, Eurostar announced a €1.7billion investment in trains for the Channel Tunnel service, with the first new, double-decker trains due to launch in 2031.

It said its expansion plans were limited by the capacity of both St Pancras, which can currently handle a maximum of 3,000 international passengers an hour, and Gare du Nord, which can handle 2,000.

Eurostar said that opening the route to competitors means Gare du Nord must be expanded to 3,000 passengers an hour and St Pancras to 5,000.

Capacity at St Pancras must be higher because there are plans to serve more European destinations, beyond the core existing services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

'Bold vision' for St Pancras

Gwendoline Cazenave, managing director of Eurostar, said at the event: “We need a comprehensive political vision for this project from the British. Currently, everyone is working in silos, whether it’s the concessionaire, the regulator, or the government.”

Ms Cazenave said talks with French authorities over the expansion of Gare du Nord were advancing well.

This could see an extension built on land to the side of the existing terminal building.

Possible changes to arrivals and departures

In London, bottlenecks could potentially be resolved without constructing a new building through changes to the arrivals and departures terminals. Both are currently at basement level.

If arriving passengers could exit directly on the upper platform level instead, more space below could be freed up.

As well as the complexity of the expansion, Eurostar has run up against other obstacles: London St Pancras Highspeed has only a 30-year concession to run the station, expiring in 2040, so it might have little incentive to carry out the work if it is not renewed.

Eurostar, which expects its new trains to run until at least 2060, has suggested the UK government and the concessionaire could get round the problem by agreeing a continuing arrangement for recovering its investment through toll fees even after the concession ends.

UK authorities have given no response to this idea.

“The UK now needs a bold vision to match the investment on the table, more depot capacity, a bold expansion of St Pancras, and a seamless border,” said Ms Cazenave.

“Now is the time to act to ensure that Britain plays a leading role in Europe’s high-speed rail future.”