London St. Pancras Highspeed, the operator of the high-speed railway line in the United Kingdom has pledged financial support for train companies running services between mainland Europe and London. The support scheme is expected to launch by the end of May 2025.
The International Growth Incentive Scheme will encourage train operators to introduce new services, launch new destinations, connect intermediate stations, deploy new rolling stock and increase passenger volumes, the press release says.
Train operators who qualify will be entitled to discounts of up to 50% in year one, 40 per cent in year two and 30 per cent in year three on the Investment Recovery Charge (IRC) which is paid to run services on the line, plus an incentive to grow passenger volumes.
Currently the high-speed line which runs from London St. Pancras to the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone operates at 50% capacity.
London St. Pancras Highspeed wants to maximise the number of international services to drive growth, offer greater choice and lower fares to passengers, to increase sustainable tourism, and provide a valuable boost to the UK economy.
The International Growth Incentive Scheme is available to all international high-speed passenger service operators using and proposing to use the high-speed line and has two parts:
- New Services Incentive, offering a discount on the IRC for new train services, launching new destinations and intermediate stations, and deploying new rolling stock.
- Passenger Incentive, offering a rebate equivalent to £1 for every additional passenger carried above previous levels. This is to be paid into a joint fund to support marketing and other activities aimed at growing passenger demand.
The proposals come amid plans to more than double international passenger capacity at London St. Pancras International Railway Station to nearly 5,000 passengers per hour to accommodate the expected growth over the next decade and beyond.
Robert Sinclair, CEO of London St. Pancras Highspeed, said in the press release: “The International Growth Incentive Scheme is an innovative and groundbreaking proposal designed to boost international rail travel with more services to more destinations in Europe.”
“We are enabling operators to expand their services, increase the network of destinations they serve and invest in new rolling stock.”
“Our ambition is to make rail the preferred mode of travel to Europe, and we know that high-speed rail can reduce carbon emissions by up to 96% compared with flying.”
“We believe this will boost the UK’s economic growth and contribute to our national effort to cut carbon.’
Growing demand
Public demand for international train travel is growing with 60% of Londoners, says the press release, supporting a ban on short-haul flights where high-speed rail alternatives exist.
London St. Pancras Highspeed recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Eurotunnel to work jointly on measures to reduce journey times, improve timetable coordination, and incentivise more trains and new routes.
The proposed International Growth Incentive Scheme has been published today for consultation with operators and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The scheme is set to commence on Friday, 30 May, subject to the outcome of the consultation.
Prospective Eurostar competitors
Several companies have expressed interest in entering the cross-Channel market in recent years.
The most concrete initiative to date comes from British businessman Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, which confirmed plans a few weeks ago to raise £700 million—approximately €823 million—to operate services between London, Paris and Brussels. Virgin stated that this funding would enable it to “further accelerate its projects”.
Other potential Eurostar competitors include German operator Deutsche Bahn, Spanish Renfe, Swiss SBB, Spanish initiative Evolyn, Dutch start-up Heurotrain, and the recently announced Gemini Trains.
Which will it be? Capacity in the tunnel is not infinite.
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