Italy’s national rail operator has announced plans to take on Eurostar by running high-speed trains between London and Paris by 2029.
It is also considering further extensions of the route to Lille, Lyon, Marseilles and Milan – and could also see trains stopping at Ashford in Kent, which has not been used by Eurostar since the start of the pandemic.
The announcement is the latest to boost hopes of a major breakthrough in cross-Channel rail travel.
Last week The Standard revealed the hopes of the boss of St Pancras station to have a “turn up and go” service that enabled travellers to arrive 15 minutes before their train departed.
The FS Italiane Group, also known as Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, already holds a 30 per cent stake in Avanti West Coast, the long-distance operator on the West Coast Main Line, and owns the c2c railway between Fenchurch Street and Essex through its subsidiary Trenitalia.
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Earlier this month the FS Group reopened its spectacular Frecciarossa Paris to Milan service across the Alps. The route had been blocked by a major landslide two years ago.
The firm, which is the first “alternative operator” on the French high-speed network, also operates a “shuttle service” between Paris and Lyon and will launch a Frecciarossa connection between Paris and Marseilles on June 15.
The possibility of rival train firms entering the cross-Channel route from St Pancras have increased with the indication from the Office of Rail and Road that there may be spare capacity at the Government-owned Temple Mills train depot in Leyton for other operators in addition to Eurostar.
FS Group said its existing presence in the UK meant it would be able to offer passengers "a greater range of products, an increasingly high-quality service and simplified ticketing, taking advantage of an already well-known brand".
It said it had signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the Spanish rail firm Evolyn, which went public in 2023 with its plans to operate international trains from St Pancras.
However Evolyn has fallen behind in its initial aim to start running services from 2025. It is not clear whether it will now merge its plans with those from the FS Group or whether the two firms will remain separate but work together.
A merger would place the new partnership in competition with the Virgin group to be the first to run trains in competition with Eurostar.
The FS Group said it was investing a billion euros in building a “more integrated, competitive, and sustainable European rail network”.
The new London to Paris service would use Frecciarossa-inspired trains, which run in Italy with a top speed of 186mph (300kmph).
The aim is to lure air passengers to the railway using high-speed international trains.
Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, FS Group chief executive, said: “This investment is a decisive step forward in FS Group's vision of building a more integrated, competitive and sustainable European rail network.
“High-speed rail networks are the backbone of efficient and environmentally friendly mobility, and by expanding our presence on key corridors, we are not just investing in infrastructure and innovation, but also in the future of European transport.
“More competition will help to create a more efficient and customer-oriented industry, offering a real alternative to air travel.”
