BRITISH-based passenger operator VTE Holdings (Virgin) has agreed a deal with Alstom to supply 12 Avelia Stream high-speed trains for its proposed cross-Channel services from 2030.
In a submission to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) relating to an application for access to Temple Mills International depot (TMI) in east London, Virgin confirms that it has “secured binding exclusivity with Alstom” for the supply of the 200m-long single-deck, tilting trains, with the deal expected to be concluded by the end of the year. It adds that all trains will be approved and fitted with relevant safety and signalling systems for use in Britain, the Channel Tunnel, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
No specifications for the new trains have been revealed and details of the maintenance schedules have been redacted from the document submitted to ORR. Virgin is competing with other prospective operators including Evolyn and Gemini Trains to secure access to TMI, currently the only location in Britain capable of servicing cross-Channel trains.
Maintenance requirements
Virgin has updated its requirements for stabling and maintenance at TMI. It says that due to more efficient planning, only one 24-hour slot is required for three weeks in every four to proactively wheel re-profile a complete train, reducing time on the wheel lathe by 520 hours. It will also requires tracks no longer than 200m within the depot area. In addition, three tracks sought for daytime stabling are only required when the wider network is disrupted. Due to the delay in ordering new trains, Virgin says it is now looking for depot access to start in the second quarter of 2028.
Details of the planned services have been confirmed. Virgin expects to operate 20 daily return services from London: 13 to Paris, four to Brussels, and three to Amsterdam. According to the company “services will follow a phased launch plan, with the full timetable in place six months after initial launch in 2030.”
The company says it is the only current operator hoping to compete with incumbent Eurostar, with both funding and trains secured. Total capital required is calculated at £700m, split across an operating and an asset company.
Virgin will hold a 50% stake in the operating company, with two undisclosed institutional shareholders holding the remainder. One of those institutional shareholders will provide all of the equity required by the asset company. Virgin says that the final stage of the debt raise process for the asset company, securing binding, credit-approved terms, is now underway, with financial close expected at the end of this year.
Virgin was one of three operators whose applications to run open-access services on Britain’s West Coast Main Line (WCML) were refused by the ORR last month due to lack of capacity on the southern section of the route.
