All abroad! Progress on international rail

15 January 2026  |  Isobel Duxfield  |  Rail

When it opened in 1994 the Channel Tunnel revolutionised travel to Europe. Although admittedly passenger uptake was not immediate, by 1997, six million tourists and business travellers each year were experiencing the wonders of moving seamlessly from the centre of London to Paris, Brussels and onwards to other European capitals.

Over the last decade, progress appeared to stall. Although Eurostar reported ‘record’ passenger numbers for 2024, with a 5 per cent year-on-year increase to 19.5 million travellers, air travel continued to grow across corridors which are accessible by train, and stations such as Ebbsfleet and Ashford International were closed. It looked as if we were beginning to move in the wrong direction.

However, the last few months have brought exciting changes, and momentum may be building again – giving rail enthusiasts and regular international travellers cause for celebration. Much of this progress has come since the release of our Runways to Railways report, in collaboration with Steer, which explored the various options to make better use of the significant unused capacity in the Channel Tunnel, while showing that such action could bring huge annual investment into the UK via increased business and leisure travel, and by expanding trade and logistics routes for rail.

One of the major shifts is the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) granting of access to Temple Mills Depot to Virgin. The depot (which holds a European Loading Gauge) is key to operating services across the Channel, and Virgin has stated its intention to launch services in 2029. With Eurostar having retained a monopoly on international rail for decades, new operators are emerging on the scene, bringing with them the promise of more frequent (and hopefully lower cost) services.

And Virgin may not be the only new kid in town. Trenitalia, Italy’s state-owned rail operator, also plans to launch high-speed Paris-London services via the Channel Tunnel by 2029, and Deutsche Bahn has also stated its intention to run services to London.

As if this wasn’t enough, Eurostar has also pledged to expand investment in stock, seeking to double its annual passenger numbers to 30 million, by putting in an order for a new fleet of Avelia Horizon trains, which they are calling ‘Celestia’, perhaps a nod to what may seem like the other-worldly experience for UK passengers of using double decker-trains on our shores. The initial order is for 30 trains, with an option for a further 20, with 2031 the target date.

You wait hours for a train, then they all come at once! OK, so that is not quite the proverb, but you get the gist. As you can imagine, here at Campaign for Better Transport, we are buzzing with excitement. Having appealed to the ORR last year to open up the tunnel to new operators in order to increase capacity, this is huge progress in the right direction.

Over in Europe the tide is turning too. On key lines (Paris -Lyon, Milan-Rome, Madrid-Barcelona, Berlin-Munich, Paris-Brussels-Cologne-Amsterdam) services are being added, journey times cut, and passenger numbers are growing.

The policy engine

These changes are not happening in a void. Increasing political will (some backed by hard cash) is helping to ensure that the infrastructure, stable investment environments and cooperation agreements are in place to enable rail to grow substantially over the coming decades.

The European Union’s latest high-speed rail plan (unveiled in November) is seeking to strengthen the development of high-quality rail connections between major cities and transport hubs across Europe, by coordinating funding sources and private investment, providing legislation to support the second-hand market for rolling stock, and improve cross-border ticketing and booking systems.

There is undoubtedly a long way to go (unfortunately you won’t be travelling to Rome in three hours any time soon); the EU will need to maintain this momentum, with bold and reliable funding strategies, but it is laying the groundwork for tangible and potentially transformative changes.

Westminster appears to be moving in the same direction. Last May a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Switzerland to explore the barriers to establishing direct connections between the UK and Switzerland, including border control issues and technical standards, followed by a similar agreement with Germany in July.

Behind this, the ORR’s recent move allowing Virgin access to Temple Mills demonstrates a real ambition and willingness to move forward, with regulators and operators working together to improve international rail travel and help grow the market.

Switching tracks: can rail rival aviation?

These recent changes reopen conversations around replacing air travel with rail. This will be imperative if the UK is to achieve its carbon emissions reduction targets. Trains are able to carry five times as many passengers as plane, with a single flight the equivalent of up to 13 Eurostar journeys in terms of carbon footprint.

In addition, the development of low-cost alternatives in France, Spain and Germany could make onward travel far more affordable. Ouigo, which links Paris to major French cities such as Lyon, Marseille or Nantes, EVA in Spain (the low cost service launched by Renfe) and Flixtrain which offers cheaper train travel across Germany, using old Swiss and Austrian coaches, are all helping to enable rail to compete with air travel.

However, tax regimes in the UK (and abroad) continue to prop up air travel, keeping prices artificially low. Airlines pay neither kerosene tax nor VAT on international flights, while rail operators are subject to energy taxes, VAT and (often high) track access charges.

Furthermore, the £13 Air Passenger Duty rate paid by 78% of air travellers has increased only £3 since 1997. Adjusting for inflation, this is in fact a real terms drop.

Behind this, plans for airport expansion (which Campaign for Better Transport, the Climate Change Committee, the New Economics Foundation and many others have all cautioned against), is continuing. Indeed, the recent Budget from Westminster (which included significant progress on sustainable transport funding) reiterated Heathrow expansion plans – including an eyewatering £21bn for the third runway – eating away at the Government’s green credentials. With airport expansion concentrated in the South-East, and 50% new capacity predicted to be used by just 3% of the population, this is neither a sustainable nor fair use of the transport budget.

Rail clearly has the capacity to rival air travel to many destinations. Since 2023, the share of routes where trains are dominantly cheaper has risen by 14%. However, in France, Spain and the United Kingdom trains are more expensive than flights on up to 95 percent of cross-border routes. The UK still holds five of the ten most expensive cross-border train trips, compared to flights: not a leaderboard we should celebrate topping.

Stay tuned for my next blog post which explores the trends in business travel, and how Campaign for Better Transport will be taking action to support and promote international rail.