High-speed railway operator Eurostar has announced it is working on "thoroughly renewing and expanding its fleet" with up to 50 new trains, while also hinting at extending its services to other destinations.
The company operating high-speed trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK merged with Thalys last year, expanding its fleet to 51 trains. It is now planning to order up to 50 new trains. This will bring the number of trains in its fleet to 67, as most of the order will go towards replacing older trains – mainly the former Thalys trains. The company expects the first new trains to hit the tracks in 2030.
"There is a huge demand for our services and we have big European ambitions," Eurostar chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said in a press release. "Investing in up to 50 new trains will increase capacity and give customers a progressive experience in terms of comfort, accessibility and sustainability."
More passengers, greener travel and competition
Earlier this year, the company announced that it had welcomed 18.6 million passengers on board its trains, one-fifth more than the 15.3 million passengers recorded in 2022. Eurostar's key ambition is to grow to 30 million passengers a year by 2030.
The company has also vowed to ensure that all trains run on 100% renewable energy by 2030. In the Netherlands, Eurostar trains have already been running on 100% wind power since 2017, while in Belgium, an agreement was signed with national rail network operator Infrabel earlier this year to explore the installation of new solar projects to power trains.
To attain both goals, it will need additional capacity through new vehicles. However, the announcement that Eurostar's monopoly, especially for travel to London, will end after more than 30 years has likely also spurred the decision.
In recent months, the arrivals of two new high-speed lines to London in competition with Eurostar – one running from Paris to London without stopping in Brussels, and another from the Netherlands to London and Paris starting from the end of 2027 which will stop twice in Belgium – have been confirmed.
Eurostar logo painted over an old Thalys train following the two company's merger. Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
The last time Eurostar commissioned new trains was almost a decade ago, in late 2015. The first Siemens-built Velaro e320n became operational at this time. Eurostar now has 17 such trains, which run between London and mainland Europe.
These are the only trains that will remain in the fleet: the other vehicles – built by French company Alstom and Siemens – will be replaced by the new trains.
However, it will take some time before regular passengers board a new train, as Eurostar is only at the beginning of the process of ordering the trains. During 2025, it will likely become clear who will be commissioned to build the trains. It has not disclosed any information about how much the new trains will cost.
Meanwhile, Eurostar also hinted at an expansion of the network into new countries, but the plans for this are not yet concrete and no countries have been named. It has already mentioned in the past it wants to develop "open hubs" to connect Eurostar services to domestic networks or long-haul flights, for example through the air-rail partnership with KLM.
Its terminals are also getting facelifts. This year, Eurostar's cross-Channel terminal at Amsterdam Centraal station will be closed for six months for renovation works to expand its capacity. The Channel Terminal in Brussels-Midi railway station – the lock between the Schengen zone and the United Kingdom – will also be renewed. The renovation works will see the number of seats being doubled, improved sanitary facilities and lighting and will add more catering facilities.
