Two new competitors could challenge Eurostar between Netherlands, Paris and London

Two competitors are looking to break Eurostar’s monopoly on the lines between Amsterdam, Paris, and London. Richard Branson is preparing a bid to be a direct Eurostar competitor with trains running between London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, sources told The Telegraph. And brand new Dutch company Heuro wants to run over a dozen daily trains between Amsterdam, Paris, and London, as well as two daily trains from Groningen on this route, AD reports.

Eurostar currently has the exclusive right to international rail service between the Netherlands, London, and Paris. Entrepreneurs Roemer and Maarten van den Biggelaar want to change that with Heuro. “There is a beautiful tunnel with high-speed rail under the Channel that could be used much better,” Roemer van den Biggelaar told AD.

Heuro plans to make 16 daily return trips between Amsterdam and Paris by 2028 and 15 daily return trips to London. High ambitions, given that Eurostar currently only runs four daily trips between Amsterdam and London. “We have done a thorough data analysis, and the demand is there,” Van den Biggelaar said. Eurostar transported almost 15 million passengers between London, Paris and Amsterdam last year. And there are still 55 daily flights between Amsterdam and London. “Those people are much better off taking the train.”

Heuro also wants two of the 16 daily trains to Paris to depart from Groningen and two ending in Groningen in the evening. “Why should only the Randstad be connected to London and Paris?” Van den Biggelaar said. “We think there is enough demand outside the Randstad.” The north also offers another advantage. “The shunting yards in the Randstad are often very full. There is more space in the north. We could also have our maintenance done there. That is also good for employment.”

Van den Biggelaar also expects to be able to offer lower prices than the Eurostar. He referred to Italy, where newcomer Italo competed with state-owned company Trenitalia on the high-speed rail network from 2012. The market tripled, and ticket prices fell by 40 percent. “However, I cannot yet say how much cheaper a ticket will be.”

Branson’s plans are still in their early stages, but he is plotting a Eurostar rival and a return to the United Kingdom’s rail sector four years after his Virgin Trains stopped running there, The Telegraph’s sources said. Virgin Train’s former CEO, Phil Whittingham, is spearheading Eurostar rival, and plans are already underway for a Branson publicity stunt to announce it. Whittingham is also talking with officials about running trains from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

Virgin wouldn’t comment on the matter to the newspaper.