2023-10-14 14:02:14
This article was originally published in English
Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly on cross-Channel trains might be regarding to end.
ADVERTISEMENT
Evolyn, Eurostar’s rival, should put its first trains into circulation in 2025.
The start-up specializing in high-speed trains is preparing to launch a cross-Channel service between London and Paris.
“It would be the first time, following 30 years of Eurostar’s monopoly, that a competitor has entered the market”says an Evolyn spokesperson to the Archyde.com news agency.
On Wednesday, Evolyn said it had agreed to buy 12 trains from French multinational rolling stock maker Alstom. This agreement might be extended to 16 trains, specifies Evolyn in a press release.
Alstom said in an email that it “confirms being in discussion with Evolyn”. The manufacturer of the iconic French TGV did not provide further details.
Who owns Evolyn, the Eurostar competitor?
The total investment in the Evolyn project amounts to 1.16 billion euros, Evolyn announced in a press release, adding that the trains should start running in 2025 and that the service will be fully operational in 2026.
“The owners or shareholders of this consortium are French and British partners, both industrialists and investment funds, as well as financiers, long-time railway professionals and international funds interested in the project”an Evolyn spokesperson told Archyde.com on Wednesday.
He did not specify who exactly the investors in the project were, nor what their participation was, given that it is a project currently being finalized.
Jorge Cosmen, from the Spanish industrial family that invested heavily in British coach and train company Mobico – formerly National Express – is Evolyn’s CEO.
However, Mobico told Archyde.com by email on Wednesday that it was not part of the consortium.
The Channel Tunnel is designed to accommodate almost double the current rail traffic.
Eurostar is a lucrative business that connects London and continental Europe via high-speed trains. In 2022, it made a record profit of 332 million euros.
The company announced in June that passenger numbers on its London-Netherlands route had more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels.
But this popular connection might be suspended from June 2024 due to renovation works at the main station in the Dutch capital.
Getlink, the French operator of the Channel Tunnel infrastructure, writes in a press release that the announcement of Evolyn “confirms the growth potential of the cross-Channel passenger rail market”. He further specifies that the infrastructure was designed to accommodate almost double the current rail traffic.
“The Channel Tunnel operates on an ‘open access’ basis, ensuring an equal right of access to any rail operator traveling between the UK and EU networks”, reveals Getlink.
Where will the Evolyn trains go?
Evolyn plans a non-stop service between London St Pancras International and Paris Nord, according to British industry magazine Railway Gazette.
Stops in the north of the France may be added in the future, but no other routes are planned at this time.
The plans have been in the works for three years and discussions over track access rights are ongoing.
1697297874
#Evolyn #highspeed #train #startup #preparing #dethrone #Eurostar
