The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) says Eurostar’s London depot would be able if required to accommodate additional trains, following its receipt of an independent report it commissioned to investigate the matter. The report, published today, assessed the capacity at the operator’s Temple Mills International facility.
The rail regulator added that changes to operational and maintenance arrangements at the depot, as well as possible alterations to infrastructure, would be required to access extra capacity and allow more trains to be stabled/maintained there.
The independent report was commissioned by ORR following growing interest in providing extra services between St Pancras and continental Europe. Access to a suitable depot close to London for maintenance and storage has been cited by industry as a critical requirement for more operators to take on the route.
Following publication of the report, stakeholders are now being asked to provide evidence that they believe would support or change ORR’s initial findings.
Stakeholders have until 28 April to submit their evidence, and ORR’s final conclusions will be published after the regulator has considered their responses.
Commenting on the announcement, Ben Plowden, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said:
“This announcement means that competition on High Speed 1 has been given the green light – opening the door for more services to a wider variety of destinations across Europe. Passengers will be delighted to hear this news. Much of the great potential of the Channel Tunnel is currently untapped, so while there are further hurdles to clear, we are very glad that the reality of new services is closer than ever.”
Image credit: iStockphoto.com/clubfoto
