A new candidate has emerged with plans to operate passenger trains through the Channel Tunnel between the European mainland and London.
Gemini Trains, chaired by UK Labour MP Lord Berkeley, aims to run trains from London to Brussels and Paris. According to their website, they plan to expand to various new destinations in Europe in the future.
The company also mentions Ebbsfleet station in Kent as a potential stop, a location Eurostar ceased servicing in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Currently, Eurostar, partially owned by Belgian railway company SNCB/NMBS, is the only operator transporting passengers through the Channel Tunnel between London and European destinations such as Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
In recent years, several companies have expressed interest in examining the feasibility of train routes through the Channel Tunnel, including Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Spain’s Renfe, Switzerland’s SBB, Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Spain’s Evolyn, and the Netherlands’ Heurotrain.
Getlink, the Channel Tunnel operator, announced about a year ago their ambition to double the number of direct high-speed train connections through the tunnel within the next ten years. They see potential routes connecting London with cities like Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Marseille.
