The Eurostar is unique in the UK. It’s currently the only passenger train company that can take you all the way from London to France – although others like Virgin, Evolyn, Deutsche-Bahn, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and even Uber are trying to change that – and soon it will become the only provider to put double-decker carriages on British rails.
The international carrier announced today (October 22) that it hopes to have double-decker trains, named the Eurostar Celestia, in service in the next six years. A whopping €2 billion (£1.75 billion) is being invested into the fleet, increasing potential annual passenger numbers by a third thanks to more services and bigger trains. It’s part of a wider plan to grow ridership to 30 million passengers per year.
Eurostar is putting a further €80m (£70m) into upgrading its Temple Mills depot so that it has the adequate space and provisions for the Celestia. The company says that this will not only upgrade the infrastructure, but ‘create around 350 more highly skilled jobs at the depot, continuing its heritage as a centre of excellence for international high-speed rail’.
This comes only a few months after an announcement that Eurostar will soon begin services to Geneva and Frankfurt, as interest in running services through the Channel Tunnel grows from competitors. It’s unclear whether the Temple Mills depot would still be able to accommodate an extra competitor service alongside new Eurostar trains, but a decision is expected on this soon.
Here’s everything you need to know about Eurostar’s brand-new double-decker trains.
When is Eurostar introducing double decker trains?
These new trains are being custom-built by Alstom Group, who have provided Eurostar with locomotives since the start, so it will be a little while before they are constructed and ready to go. All being well, it’s hoped that the vehicles will debut in May 2031.
Has there ever been double-decker trains in the Channel Tunnel?
Not only has there never been double-decker trains in the Channel Tunnel before, there’s never been much of an effort to introduce them to UK railways at all.
The only other double decker train to have been used in Britain was an experimental carriage design in the 1940s, introduced in an effort to address growing numbers of commuters into London. It was in use from 1949 until 1971, but people were literally sitting on top of each other because the model was the same height as regular trains, making them very cramped and uncomfortable. The models were scrapped.
Eurostar’s double-decker trains will be much closer to those used on European railways than the experimental SR Class 4DD’s trialled on our home turf.
How many double decker trains will Eurostar have?
Eurostar has placed an initial order of 30 carriages, with the option to add an extra 20 should that be deemed necessary. In 2031, the first six will come into service, with more phased in over the next few years.
What model are the double-decker trains?
The new trains are to be bespoke, so they’ll be a brand new model based on Alstom’s Avelia Horizon platform. Broadly speaking they will be similar to the TGV Duplex sets which are widely in use across mainland Europe, and will be interoperable across all five of the countries Eurostar operates in, including on its newly announced routes to Geneva and Frankfurt.
The Celestia class will act as addition to Eurostar’s existing fleet of 17 e320s, although some older carriages may be retired as newer models are introduced. Once all is said and done, the provider will have a total fleet of 67 trains.
How much bigger are double-decker trains?
Each 200m carriage will have 540 seats, meaning that if two carriages are running together as they do currently, the total capacity will be 1,080 people – a 20 percent increase on the current number of 750.
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