Trenitalia joins Eurostar in appealing Virgin's HS1 track access deal

Trenitalia France has joined Eurostar in challenging the track access deal that gives Virgin Trains up to 20 daily return services through the Channel Tunnel from 2030. Both operators have appealed to Britain's Office of Rail and Road (ORR) against the framework agreement between Virgin and London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), the HS1 concessionaire, the International Railway Journal reported on 20 October 2026. Trenitalia has asked the regulator to hear the two appeals together.

The ORR pre-approved Virgin's agreement in August. It runs for 10 years from 1 October 2030 and covers up to 20 return trips a day between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, with 13 planned for Paris, four for Brussels and three for Amsterdam. Eurostar lodged its appeal shortly afterwards, calling the process "wholly non-transparent as well as unfair and discriminatory". Virgin Group replied that the challenge was "regrettable, predictable and, in our view, without merit".

Trenitalia's case rests on unequal treatment. It says LSPH took more than 200 days to approve its own application, asking for signed contracts, tender documents and a manufacturing guarantee from Hitachi, while Virgin's deal was granted with conditions on rolling stock it had not yet ordered, financial viability and stabling. The Italian operator argues it was further ahead, with 19 Hitachi ETR 1000 trains on order for 2029 and a maintenance depot secured in Paris. LSPH approved Trenitalia's application on 13 August, the same day the ORR approved Virgin's.

Trenitalia also says LSPH refused to examine the two applications side by side and did not coordinate cross-border capacity with Getlink or SNCF, which it claims breaches the 2016 Access Regulations. It asks the ORR to rescind Virgin's agreement or, failing that, to hold back the capacity until a fair process covers both operators. Trenitalia plans an hourly London–Paris service from the end of 2029. Eurostar, which wants to grow its own cross-Channel timetable, called for "a level playing field for all viable proposals", in the words of Gareth Williams, its general secretary.

Virgin has since moved on its fleet, with an order for 12 Alstom Avelia Stream trains, and it already holds access to the Temple Mills depot in London. We covered its plans in Virgin offers first glimpse of its cross-Channel service.

Our analysis

At heart, the dispute is about scarce paths. St Pancras has a limited number of international platforms, and every train must also pass border checks and fit into the tunnel's timetable shared with Le Shuttle and freight. If Virgin keeps 20 daily returns, the room left for Trenitalia's hourly service and Eurostar's growth shrinks. A joint hearing would force the ORR to look at total capacity rather than one bid at a time. For passengers, the outcome will decide whether London–Paris gets two new competitors around 2030 or only one.

Sources: International Railway Journal (20/10/2026); Railway PRO (25/08/2026); Business Travel News Europe (24/08/2026).

Photo: Romainbehar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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