Eurostar Needs Competitors to Power High-Speed Rail Renaissance
New entrants can improve the cost and variety of cross-Channel rail services, providing bottlenecks are addressed.
After enjoying a 30-year monopoly, Eurostar could do with cross-Channel competition to force the train operator to raise its game.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/BloombergDisembarking from the Eurostar international rail service beneath the magnificent arched roof of London’s St Pancras station always gives me a thrill. Whooshing through a 31-mile (50-kilometer) tunnel beneath the English Channel and arriving in the heart of Britain’s capital less than two and half hours after leaving Paris makes the stress of flying and the associated burning of hydrocarbons feel uncivilized.
And yet, my pleasure is sometimes tinged with disappointment: about Eurostar’s sometimes high fares, crowded departure lounges and the limited number of direct international connections. Happily, there’s a fix for these issues: increased investment and greater competition.