Channel Tunnel: Deutsche Bahn keen on trains to London
January 13, 2024
Germany's state-owned railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) said on Saturday that it was vying to launch services through the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel.
"Transport between London and the mainland through the Eurotunnel remains of fundamental interest to Deutsche Bahn," a DB spokesperson told the Germany press agency dpa.
The news comes as DB's long-distance cross-border passenger rail demand increases, amid greater demand for climate-friendly transport.
The German operator had long looked at launching services through the Channel connecting England and the European continent, but years of dispute over safey requirements put the plan on hold.
Currently travelers wishing to take a train from Germany to London have to change trains and train operators in Brussels for the last leg under the Channel.
DB originally planned to run its high-speed ICE trains from Frankfurt to London, but years of safety disputes prevented this.
The train would pass through Cologne, Brussels and Lille, France, according to the original plan that was drawn up in 2013.
Eurostar, which operates passenger trains that use the Channel, has had a monopoly for nearly 30 years.
Channel Tunnel to add more destinations, increase high-speed rail services
The plan has once again been set in motion after Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, said it had plans to introduce more services through the undersea link.
In a statement last month, Getlink said it aimed to double the number of high-speed rail services from London over the next 10 years. It specifically mentioned new routes from London to Cologne and Frankfurt in Germany, and to Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.
Among other things, Getlink said that a more rapid renovation of safety infrastructure would help enable this, making the stretch of rail compatible with other operators' trains.
A DB spokesperson told dpa that routes and trains were currently not equipped with an end-to-end European Train Control System which is the European rail safety system.
"The approval of our ICE trains for Belgium, northern France and England depends on this equipment," the DB spokesperson said, referring to plans to connect major European cities and England.
rm/msh (dpa)