Yann Leriche, CEO of Getlink and Robert Sinclair, CEO of London St. Pancras Highspeed (Photo: Business Wire)
London St. Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration and grow international rail connectivity between the UK and Europe.
The MoU outlines measures to reduce journey times, improve timetable coordination, and incentivise more trains and new routes.
These enhancements aim to make international high-speed rail travel faster, more affordable, and more convenient.
LONDON, February 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
London St. Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel have today announced a landmark partnership to accelerate the growth of cross-Channel high-speed rail, marking a pivotal step towards transforming sustainable and efficient international travel between the UK and Europe.
The UK’s only high-speed rail infrastructure operator, London St. Pancras Highspeed, and Eurotunnel, owned by Paris based company Getlink, share a commitment to expand rail connectivity on both sides of the English Channel. Through this strategic growth partnership, both parties will cooperate more closely to lay the foundations for increased cross-Channel rail traffic, with the aim of creating new routes and destinations along the line.
The parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which outlines a variety of important steps designed to deepen collaboration on innovation and engineering initiatives. These include exploring opportunities to shorten journey times, improve timetable coordination, and align more closely on growth strategies, as well as working together to introduce more trains each hour for international services in each direction.
These enhancements will make rail travel faster, more efficient and widely available – aiming to make rail travel the preferred transport option to the continent.
The MoU follows the announcement of a new study by London St. Pancras Highspeed which highlights the potential to increase current international passenger capacity in St. Pancras up to nearly 5,000 per hour in a bid to unlock the untapped potential of the iconic London station and high-speed line.
As champions of sustainable transportation, London St. Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel are committed to advocating ‘rail first’ public policies and will actively collaborate with governments to emphasise the environmental advantages of rail journeys under six hours.
Robert Sinclair, CEO of London St. Pancras Highspeed, says: "Joining forces with Eurotunnel is another exciting step on our journey to realise a future where high-speed rail is the preferred option for travelling to Europe. As we see demand for international rail travel grow, London St. Pancras Highspeed and Eurotunnel have an important role to play as key infrastructure managers to actively work together to encourage new and existing train operators to expand capacity and launch new destinations unlocking the potential of a fully connected Europe."
Yann Leriche, CEO of Getlink says: "As an open access infrastructure, Eurotunnel is the pioneer in enabling growth of high-speed rail between the UK and Continental Europe. We are keen to drive forward attractive opportunities for low-carbon mobility with a range of new destinations in Germany, Switzerland and France. This partnership with London St. Pancras Highspeed is an essential catalyst for accelerating this growth momentum."
About London St. Pancras Highspeed
London St. Pancras Highspeed owns and operates the UK’s only international high-speed rail link and the stations along the route – St. Pancras International, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International – connecting London directly to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
This line supports £427m of economic benefits to UK and continental Europe every year, with cumulative benefits of £4.5bn since handed concession. London St. Pancras Highspeed has also reduced annual emissions equivalent to 60,000 short-haul flights each year.
Following a recently commissioned study highlighting potential for capacity growth, London St. Pancras Highspeed is preparing to unlock further growth both within St. Pancras Station and along the high-speed line to drive a new era of connected, environmentally conscious travel.
About Eurotunnel
Eurotunnel operates the Channel Tunnel, the world’s longest undersea tunnel, providing a vital link between the UK and France. Eurotunnel facilitates the movement of millions of passengers and freight vehicles each year through its efficient and sustainable services. With a commitment to innovation and reliability, Eurotunnel ensures seamless cross-border travel, supporting economic growth and connectivity across Europe.
About Getlink
Getlink SE (Euronext Paris: GET), through its subsidiary Eurotunnel, is the concession holder until 2086 for the Channel Tunnel infrastructure and operates Truck Shuttles and Passenger Shuttles (cars and coaches) between Folkestone (UK) and Calais (France). Since 31 December 2020 Eurotunnel has been developing the smart border to ensure that the Tunnel remains the fastest, most reliable, easiest and most environmentally friendly way to cross the Channel. Since it opened in 1994, more than 518 million people and 106 million vehicles have travelled through the Channel Tunnel. This unique land link, which carries a quarter of trade between the Continent and the United Kingdom, has become a vital link, reinforced by the ElecLink electricity interconnector installed in the Tunnel, which helps to balance energy needs between France and the United Kingdom. Getlink completes its sustainable mobility services with its rail freight subsidiary Europorte. Committed to "low-carbon" services that control their impact on the environment, Getlink has made the place of people, nature and territories a central concern.
