The United Kingdom’s Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has approved Virgin Trains’ use of the Temple Mills International depot.
The Temple Mills International depot serves international trains that connect through the Channel Tunnel (Eurotunnel) across the Strait of Dover between the UK and France. Since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, cross-Channel passenger services have been exclusively operated by Eurostar.
Applications from Evolyn Mobility, Gemini Trains, and Trenitalia France were rejected. Taking Eurostar’s growth plans into account, the ORR concluded that Virgin Trains is most likely to make the best use of capacity and is financially and operationally sound.
Transport services using the Channel Tunnel are planned to begin in 2030. Securing funding and rolling stock, obtaining access to Eurotunnel and London’s St Pancras station, and safety certification will be required.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
