Should all go to plan, it won’t be long before you can have breakfast at London’s St Pancras station, lunch while zipping across France, arriving in Milan in time for dinner – without changing trains.
How thrilling is that? Most London to Milan trains take more than 14 hours because of the changes.
But by travelling direct to the Italian city the journey would be about ten hours.
Running Eurostar trains to Milan is just one of many new European routes being planned by London St Pancras Highspeed – the cleverly rebranded HS1 – and Eurotunnel’s French owners Getlink.
As well as the current routes to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, the two groups are looking at direct services across the continent including to Zurich, Geneva, Cologne and Frankfurt.
Integral to the plan is for London St Pancras, the company which operates the station and all the stations along the high-speed route to Folkestone, to expand capacity at the London terminus.
Let the train take the strain: Both London St Pancras and Getlink say there is pent-up and untapped potential for greater international traffic
The station is already operating in tight conditions, with long queues. But London St Pancras has come up with new designs which can nearly triple the number of passengers to 5,000 an hour, from the present 1,800. This will be carried out in two stages, with the longer-distance destinations ready to run in around five years.
Such expansion means extending the departure lounge and increasing security clearance, meaning new investment and more jobs. And there’s more.
The partnership will open up the Channel Tunnel to rivals. Top of the queue is Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group which has ordered a dozen or so trains, ready to break Eurostar’s monopoly.
So too are other competitors such as Evolyn, the Spanish company set up by investors in National Express, and Heuro, a Dutch start-up train operator. Heuro, which also has big train orders on the stocks, wants to run 15 journeys per day between Amsterdam and London, including stops in Brussels and Paris.
Both London St Pancras and Getlink say there is pent-up and untapped potential for greater international traffic.
One reason they can expand is that Europe’s high-speed rail network was liberalised a decade ago. That means routes are open for bids for space on the tracks, which is why there is a rush to compete.
More competition can only be positive for travellers, hopefully ushering in a new golden age of rail. And about time too.
Rail is still the most superior mode of travel, beating low-cost airlines and cramped airport lounges any day.
There’s one proviso; if these new operators do want to compete against the airlines, they must keep prices low – maybe even launching modern Interrail-style offers or loyalty travel cards.
It’s also great news for stronger relations with our continental cousins.
With Europe in such economic and political flux, there couldn’t be a better time for more visitors to criss-cross the Channel as this can only strengthen ties. And, if one dares be cheeky, it’s taking place despite Brexit.
Germany heads to the polls
Germans go to the polls tomorrow in what promises to be the most consequential post-war election.
YouGov’s final figures points to Friedrich Merz’s centre-Right Christian Democrats being the outright winner with about 30 per cent of the vote, and around 220 of the Bundestag’s 630 seats.
Although support has tailed off, the biggest gains are likely to be made by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party while Olaf Scholz, the current chancellor, faces big losses. Merz has ruled out working with the AfD so he will have to choose the Greens or the SDP.
Whoever he goes for, they will have to promise iron-clad backing if he is to deal with a volatile immigration crisis, boost spending on armed forces and kick-start the economy, which is in the doldrums.
Surveys show how Europe’s powerhouse is stuttering, with the manufacturing sector in and out of recession and negligible growth in services. In the past, Merz has suggested loosening the brakes on borrowing rules. Will he be bold enough?
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