Usually, when we head over to St Pancras to depart the country, we’re talking direct routes to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. But soon, passengers could be able to go straight to destinations in Germany and Switzerland straight from the London train station in a bid from St Pancras to improve passenger numbers at the station.
Plans are being laid out from London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), to increase the level of capacity for international travel from the capital. They own the station and operate the track at the Channel Tunnel in Folkstone, and the move could see the number of international passengers go up by nearly triple from 1,800 per hour to 5,000.
LSPH and Getlink, who operate the Channel Tunnel in Paris, have said that they will work together to shorten the journey times and create growth strategies to make for more trains per hour. An agreement has been signed between the two parties to commit to improving railway connections between the UK and the rest of Europe. Getlink has said this could mean high-speed routes serve Germany and Switzerland as well as more destination in France. Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Bordeaux, Marseille and Zurich have been named as cities that could be included.
There is no confirmation on whether this will come to fruition, or a timeline for new stations being added on direct routes should it happen. Getlink had previously said it hoped for new routes to be running by 2029, so don’t expect them to come anytime in the very near future!
Eurostar is the only train company that takes passengers across channel tunnel on the current destinations, though competitors including Virgin Group and Spanish company Evolyn have been said to be developing plans for services, though Virgin acknowledged it would take a ‘huge undertaking’ to see a new operator for journies across the channel.
It would also require work to be undertaken on St Pancras station, which does experience crowding in peak times due to border checks for passengers travelling to mainland Europe.
Speaking on the news, Robert Sinclair, chief executive of LSPH, said his company and Getlink would “actively work together to encourage new and existing train operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations unlocking the potential of a fully connected Europe”.
So who knows? Soon you could be playing main character imagining yourself in a movie as you stare out the window on the way to Frankfurt on the train. Watch this space for updates.
