Overview
- FS Group’s Trenitalia France has placed a confirmed €2 billion order with Hitachi Rail for 19 high-speed trains to support cross-Channel services.
- The new trains are described as a follow-on of Hitachi’s ETR1000 design and will include next-generation Wi‑Fi up to 10 Gbps, a new bistro concept, and redesigned interiors for greater comfort.
- Trenitalia France has drawn plans for a maintenance and storage facility at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour outside Paris to reduce reliance on UK depots and to support overnight stabling.
- The company is targeting a 2029 start for London–Paris services while other bidders such as Virgin Trains still plan later launches, leaving a staged contest to challenge Eurostar’s long-standing route dominance.
- Industry reporting notes the Channel Tunnel runs at roughly half its capacity and that access to UK depots, especially Temple Mills, remains a key operational barrier for new entrants and a driver of these infrastructure decisions.