The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has announced that it has pre-approved a brand-new framework track access agreement between HS1 Limited (trading as London St. Pancras Highspeed) and VTE OPCO Limited (Virgin Trains).
This will enable Virgin Trains to operate up to 20 new daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam from 1 October 2030 to 31 December 2040.
The agreement marks a major milestone in the journey to introduce competition to the market for international rail services, support economic growth and provide benefits for passengers travelling between London and continental Europe.
Both Virgin Trains and London St Pancras have now been cleared to enter into the agreement, and must do so by 4 September.
With the agreement now having received the ORR’s blessing, Virgin Trains will now be able to begin to procure rolling stock, secure access to other rail networks, and obtain the necessary safety approvals from both the ORR and all relevant authorities in the EU.
Martin Jones, Deputy Director, Access & International, said:This is an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services, and we welcome the progress Virgin Trains and London St Pancras High Speed have made.
While there is still more work to do, we are supporting Virgin and the wider industry to grow international services.
The ORR granted Virgin Trains access to the Temple Mills International Depot in October 2025, and journeys are currently expected to begin running in 2030.
Whilst the ORR approved Virgin Trains’ plans, it rejected applications from three other companies, Evolyn, Gemini and Trenitalia, stating that Virgin Trains has the strongest possibility of making the best use of capacity at the Depot, with the operator’s plans appearing more ‘financially and operationally robust’.
