Virgin Trains has been given track access for new services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam in 2030, in a step forward for its plans to rival Eurostar.
Rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said it had granted approval for Sir Richard Branson’s company to run up to 20 new daily return services through the Channel Tunnel.
The agreement covers the period between October 1 2030 to December 31 2040.
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It means Virgin Trains has passed another key regulatory hurdle towards starting the international services, after being granted access last October to share Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in east London to maintain and store trains.
Temple Mills is the only depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1, the line that runs between London and the tunnel.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel since it opened in 1994.
Sir Richard previously said it was “time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route”.
It plans to run services between St Pancras and the same stations in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam used by Eurostar.
The ORR said the decision to grant track access was “an important next step”, but that there was “still more work to do” before the new services can run.
Deputy director of access and international Martin Jones said: “This is an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services, and we welcome the progress Virgin Trains and London St Pancras High Speed have made.
“While there is still more work to do, we are supporting Virgin and the wider industry to grow international services.”
For example, Virgin Trains must secure access to other rail networks and obtain safety approvals from the ORR and relevant regulators in the EU ahead of the plans to begin running services in 2030.
