LONDON: Eurostar International Ltd., which operates high-speed trains between London and the European continent, said Thursday it will buy 10 new trains from German manufacturer Siemens in a £700 million ($1.1 billion) program to upgrade and expand its fleet.
Eurostar said the new 900-passenger trains would be capable of operating anywhere on Europe’s high-speed rail network as the company looks beyond its current destinations of London, Paris and Brussels. Details of the contract remain to be negotiated, Eurostar said.
Starting next year, Eurostar said it would also begin a complete redesign of its existing fleet of 28 train sets.
“Our sights are now set on expanding our business across Europe,” said Nicolas Petrovic, Eurostar’s chief executive.
“The transformation of Eurostar into a standalone business and the major capital investment announced today is a mark of our growth ambitions for the future.” This year, the European Commission opened the way for any rail to bid for rights to operate trains anywhere on the high-speed network.
Next weekend, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn plans to test one of its high-speed trains on a run through the Channel Tunnel as it contemplates opening direct service between London and Germany.
Eurostar says it now commands 80 percent of the travel market between London and Paris and between London and Brussels.
Eurostar was founded in 1994 as a joint venture controlled by the national rail companies of Britain, France and Belgium, with each country controlling operations on its territory.
In June, the company was reorganized to put passenger train operations under a single command. As part of the organization, the owners of the rail lines in the three countries promised to make slots available on their lines for other train companies to run services.[source]
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