There’s lots of talk going on at the moment over the future of train travel between the UK and Europe. Virgin Trains is on a mission to become the first ever Eurostar competitor, London St Pancras wants to boost its international rail capacity and Eurotunnel has its sights set on doubling the number of high-speed train services through the Channel Tunnel by 2034. All that could see brand new routes to the likes of Frankfurt, Zurich and Milan pop up over the next decade.
Now, we’ve been given another glimpse into the Channel Tunnel’s potential future – double decker trains. French train manufacturer Alstom is reportedly in talks over putting its new two-storey Avelia Horizon trains to work on rail services from the UK to Paris.
Henri Poupart-Lafarge, the company’s former chief executive (who only stepped down last week), claimed that the fleet would increase capacity and lower fares for journeys between the UK and France. He told the Financial Times: ‘The double-decker train has a lot of advantages. It's a very high-speed train with the lowest cost per seat and the highest capacity.’
The trains travel up to 300km an hour and promise passengers the ‘the latest innovations in terms of connectivity’ and ‘a smooth and safe ride with less noise and vibrations’. The line was built to European standards, so the height of the new trains wouldn’t be an issue.
The double decker trains depend on approval by operators and regulators to make sure they comply with strict legislation, which can take ‘some years’. Watch this space.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.