The end of the monopoly is looming for Eurostar. The only rail operator for transportation of passengers to link London to the European continent since the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994, the British company owned by the SNCF (55.75 %), the Quebec Caisse de Dépôt et Placement (19.31 %), the Belgian National Railway Company (18.5 %) and the American investment fund Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44 %) the future of having to cross iron with competitors.
Since mid-March, several operators have announced their desire to enter this juicy market of 11.5 million passengers in 2024, composed of the lines connecting London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. This is the case of the British group Virgin, ownership of billionaire Richard Branson, who plans to bring together 700 million pounds (830 million euros) to buy 12 trains and serve Paris and Brussels from London in 2029. But also from Gemini Trains, an English company created by several personalities of British and French rail transport, which aims, subject to gathering the necessary funds, (and Paris-Brussels) in 2029 also with “A dozen trains”according to Francis Nakache, former transdev and member of the company's management.
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Source: Lemonde