Plans to expand St Pancras station to open up new cross-Channel routes to Germany, Italy and Switzerland

St Pancras could run new cross-Channel routes to France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland under expansion plans to triple the number of international passengers.

Under a planned redesigned terminal, the international departure area could accommodate up to 5,000 passengers an hour.

London St Pancras Highspeed, the company responsible for the station, hopes a redesigned terminal could attract new railway operators to compete with Eurostar, reported the Times.

It has agreed to work with Getlink, the French operator of the Channel Tunnel, to “grow international rail connectivity between the UK and Europe”.

Among those said to be interested in running international routes are Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Evolyn, a new company set up by investors in National Express.

A Eurostar train (PA Archive)

Direct services could then run to Frankfurt and Cologne as well as Geneva and Zurich, or even as far as Milan.

Currently, Eurostar offers direct services only to Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The Channel Tunnel has spare capacity to run international services, but St Pancras’ redesign would be needed to accommodate more international passengers because the current departure area is constrained and prone to queues.

Yann Leriche, the chief executive of Getlink, told the paper: “We are keen to drive forward attractive opportunities for low-carbon [travel] with a range of new destinations in Germany, Switzerland and France. This partnership with London St Pancras Highspeed is essential for accelerating this momentum.”

Robert Sinclair, the chief executive of London St Pancras Highspeed, added: “Joining forces with Eurotunnel is another exciting step on our journey to realise a future where high-speed rail is the preferred option for travelling to Europe.

“As we see demand for international rail travel grow we have an important role to play as key infrastructure managers to actively work together to encourage new and existing train operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations unlocking the potential of a fully connected Europe.”