Virgin Group seeks to raise funding for cross-Channel Eurostar rival

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A rival to the cross-Channel train service Eurostar could appear as soon as 2029 as Virgin Group seeks to raise £700 million (€832.9mn) for the project.

The high frequency service will initially link London to Paris and Brussels, while trains to Amsterdam are part of the long-term plan.

Virgin Group told the Financial Times, who initially broke the story, that it intends to raise £300mn (€356.9mn) in equity and £400mn (€475.9mn) in debt.

The firm, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, also told the FT it plans to be a cornerstone equity investor, providing a large amount of funding to get the service started.

London St Pancras railway station is working with Getlink, the owner of the Channel tunnel, to increase passenger capacity at the UK’s international train terminal as demand grows.

St Pancras is preparing to more than double the number of passengers who can travel through the station on international trips.

Last year, Getlink offered £50mn (€59.5mn) in subsidies to nurture new cross-Channel rail services.

The setup process for Eurostar rivals will nonetheless be a rocky process due to a spat over an east London rail depot.

The depot is the only available space to park high-speed cross-Channel trains, and Eurostar claims it has used all available spots.

Virgin, along with another new contender Evolyn, has appealed to the UK’s rail regulator – seeking access.

“The cross-Channel route is ripe for change and would benefit from competition,” a Virgin Group spokesperson told Euronews.

“We think Virgin is the right brand to deliver this given its award-winning experience in the train industry, and track-record for building globally successful travel companies,” the spokesperson added.

“While Virgin is not committing to launching a service just yet, we are seeking investment from like-minded partners to invest alongside Virgin, and we are delighted with the progress made so far.”