London’s Second Eurostar Stop Just Gained a Powerful Ally

Stratford International has been something of a puzzle since it opened: a station with international in its name where no international trains stop. That may finally change. Britain’s rail minister, Lord Hendy, has publicly backed the idea of cross-Channel services calling at the east London station, telling the Evening Standard that Stratford is already a major interchange with huge growth potential and that the government is working with industry partners to make international stops there happen.

The backing matters because new operators are lining up to challenge Eurostar, which has held a monopoly on Channel Tunnel passenger services since 1994. Virgin has regulatory approval to run up to 20 daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from 2030, under a track access agreement covering the high-speed line into St Pancras through to 2040. Virgin has now said it is actively exploring additional stops including Stratford International, as well as Ebbsfleet and Ashford in Kent.

Another would-be entrant, Gemini, has already committed to stopping at Stratford, according to local MP Sir Stephen Timms, who has campaigned for international calls there for more than three decades. The proposal is also supported by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which operates the giant shopping centre beside the station. Supporters argue that a second London stop would ease pressure on a crowded St Pancras and make continental rail far more convenient for millions of people living in east London and Essex.

Important hurdles remain. Virgin still needs consent to use the Channel Tunnel itself, which is owned by Eurotunnel, and any Stratford stop would require border control facilities for passengers heading to the Schengen area. Nothing changes for travellers this year or next. But for anyone who has crossed London to reach St Pancras for a Paris train, the prospect of boarding in Stratford within the next decade just became considerably more realistic, and competition should eventually put pressure on cross-Channel fares.

Sources: Evening Standard, Time Out London