Eurostar orders UK's first fleet of double-decker trains

A large fleet of double-decker trains is acceptable to tally connected the UK obstruction web for the archetypal clip arsenic portion of the Eurostar services operating done the Channel Tunnel.

Eurostar has revealed it is buying up to 50 high-speed two-storey trains for its web crossed 5 countries - and volition see the services betwixt London St Pancras and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

The "new generation" electrical fleet of 200-metre trains volition beryllium named Eurostar Celestia and volition besides spot the instauration of services from St Pancras to Frankfurt and Geneva.

Commercial services utilizing the caller trains are expected to statesman successful May 2031.

Eurostar besides said the caller fleet volition make astir 350 much jobs astatine its Temple Mills depot successful London, wherever it plans to support its full fleet.

It said it volition beryllium investing €80m (£70m) to make the tract truthful it tin "accommodate the caller trains". Most of the firm's jobs are already based successful the UK.

Eurostar has confirmed an archetypal bid for 30 trains and has an enactment for a further 20 arsenic portion of a €2bn (£1.74bn) woody with the manufacturer, Alstom.

The trains volition run alongside Eurostar's existing 17 single-decker Siemens-built e320s and volition boast 20% much seats, a little level and beryllium 16cm taller.

Double-decker trains bash not person doubly arsenic galore seats arsenic single-deckers due to the fact that abstraction is needed for interior steps.

'More than a 1000 seats per service'

In a statement, Eurostar said: "It is expected that each 200-metre acceptable volition person astir 540 seats.

"If moving successful 400m enactment (as done the Channel Tunnel today), determination would beryllium astir 1,080 seats per service."

The institution said the Celestia fleet volition herald a "golden property for planetary sustainable travel" and volition marque up to 50% successful vigor savings compared with its existing trains.

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Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave said: "Placing this milestone bid marks the factual realisation of Eurostar's ambitious maturation strategy - to scope 30 cardinal passengers by investing successful a marque caller fleet.

"We're peculiarly arrogant to bring double-decker trains to the UK for the precise archetypal time.

"Customers tin expect a precise peculiar caller bid with Eurostar Celestia, which volition connection exceptional comfort, a unsocial Eurostar acquisition and caller surprises to beryllium revealed."