Evolyn will challenge Eurostar’s rail monopoly on the London-Paris route. The Spanish company, led by Jorge Cosmen, has reached an agreement to purchase 12 trains from Alstom. The forecast of the group, which has invested one billion pounds and is supported by British and French partners, is to start service along the English Channel in 2025. “We want to increase competitiveness and contribute to decarbonisation”, explains a note from the company Iberian. Eurostar, 55.75% owned by the French Sncf (Société nationale des chemins de fer français), will be called to respond on what Evolyn considers “a strategic route”.
The aim is to fuel competition between London and Paris. To be precise between Gare du Nord and St. Pancras International. Eurostar, founded in 1994, is currently the only operator in the Channel, but now it will be possible to change register. According to Evolyn CEO Cosmen, this is just the first step. «The acquisition of 12 state-of-the-art, high-speed trains, which will be expanded to a minimum of 16 according to our forecasts, is the definitive step towards the materialization of our project started three years ago».
Evolyn’s move will allow, for the first time in the last 30 years, to create an alternative connection to that of Eurostar. A response, the Spanish one, which was welcomed by Getlink, the operator of the tunnel that connects Folkenstone, in Kent, with Coquelles, near Calais. The aim will be to increase competition between the EU and the United Kingdom.