LONDON, January 7, 2026, 07:37 GMT
Italy’s state-owned Trenitalia said it is still aiming to launch high-speed services between Paris and London by 2029. It plans a new maintenance base near Paris after failing to win access to London’s Temple Mills International depot, a key servicing site for Channel Tunnel trains. 1
The push matters because a long-closed door on cross-Channel competition has started to shift. Britain’s rail regulator approved Virgin Trains’ application in October for access to Temple Mills — while rejecting bids from Trenitalia, Evolyn and Gemini — and said it was a first step toward new international services on High Speed 1, the London line that connects to the Channel Tunnel. “With this decision we are backing customer choice and competition in international rail,” said Martin Jones, the Office of Rail and Road’s deputy director for access and international. 2
The timing also reflects a squeeze elsewhere in the system. Operators are juggling ageing diesel fleets, pressure to cut emissions and a stretch of disruptive engineering works on busy routes, making train availability and infrastructure capacity a live issue for passenger services.
FS Group and U.S. travel investment firm Certares signed a strategic partnership in late December that backs a 1 billion euro investment plan in France and the UK, with an initial focus on Trenitalia France, the companies said. They said the plan includes expanding the French fleet to at least 19 trainsets, building a maintenance facility near Paris, increasing frequencies on existing routes and targeting entry on the Paris–London corridor by 2029. 3
In Britain, Great Western Railway has set out a three-stage plan to renew its passenger trains — known in the industry as rolling stock — after running its final High Speed Train “Castle” sets in December. It is bringing in 26 Class 175 diesel multiple units (DMUs), self-powered trains formed of several cars, but said making them service-ready after about 18 months in storage has slowed the rollout. GWR said the trains could allow longer services on routes such as Barnstaple and Okehampton using selective door opening, where only some doors open at short platforms, and it is exploring battery-electric options on branches east of Reading. 4
Network Rail said it demolished the 130-metre Clifton Bridge over the M6 near Penrith in Cumbria early on Jan. 5 and reopened the motorway 70 minutes ahead of schedule, a milestone in a £60 million bridge renewal. Christian Irwin OBE of Network Rail called the demolition a “mammoth task”, while Skanska’s Rosario Barcena said the team worked “with great precision” to keep the programme on track. Network Rail said a further 57-hour closure from Friday night will allow a 4,200-tonne replacement bridge to be moved into place, part of almost £200 million of West Coast Main Line works over Christmas and New Year and a £400 million programme planned over four years. 5
The bridge replacement has severed part of the West Coast Main Line, Britain’s main rail artery linking London with north-west England and Scotland. Rail Magazine said the work prompted diversions and led Avanti West Coast to reroute some services over the Settle–Carlisle line using Class 805 bi-mode units, which can run on either electric power or diesel. 6
