When it comes to continental cross-border train travel, nobody does it quite like Eurostarright? Their smooth, speedy, sustainable services have been whizzing Londoners through the Channel Tunnel for over thirty years now. And they certainly don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon (unless they’re being held at a red signal, of course). In fact, they just keep going from strength to strength.
A rather sizeable step chug has recently been taken in the direction of two handy new rail routes that would transport Londoners directly from the capital city to two iconic German cities. Eurostar has joined forces with the German train operator, German railwayfor the occasion. And they’re set to launch direct services from London to both Cologne and Frankfurt within the next decade.
The wheels were officially set in motion when a Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed by the two major train operators. Passengers who currently want to travel by train from London to Cologne and Frankfurt have to do so by hopping on the Eurostar to Brussels and then changing to an onward operate from there. The new direct route from London to Cologne would take around four hours, and the journey to Frankfurt would take just over five.
If all goes to plan, the new routes could be up and running by the early 2030s. Full details are yet to be set in stone, but the new trains would use existing infrastructure and the routes would supposedly be served by Eurostar’s shiny new fleet of double decker trains (which just so happen to be the first double decker rolling stock to operate in the UK and Channel Tunnel).
CEO of Eurostar, Gwendoline Cazenavesaid: “We’re thrilled to kick off this partnership with DB. It’s a big step towards making travel between London and Germany more sustainable and effortless. By combining Eurostar’s cross-channel know-how and new fleet with DB’s strong presence in Germany, we’re creating a whole new level of connectivity and convenience for our customers.”
Prime Minister, Keir Starmersaid “This brings us one step closer to a new rail link that will put Britain at the heart of a better-connected Europe and paves the way for increased trade, tourism and investment.”
