Start-up operator Heuro is aiming to bring competition to cross-channel rail travel by launching services from Amsterdam to Brussels, London and Paris – but not until 2028.
Founded by Dutchman Roemer van den Biggelaar, the company points to the growing number of routes in Europe served by new entrants as evidence that it can successfully launch and compete.
Speaking to Railway Gazette, the founder cited Trenitalia's services between Milan and Paris that now compete with SNCF, and to Italo which began competing with Trenitalia in 2012. Since then, fares in Italy have fallen 40 per cent and rail passenger numbers have increased by 300 per cent.
“We want lower prices and more people off planes and on trains”, said van den Biggelaar.
The company set an ambitious target of operating 15 services a day between Amsterdam and London. Eurostar, the sole current operator on the route, has four services a day between the cities. It also hopes to put on 16 services a day between Amsterdam and Paris. Intermediate stops would include Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels. “We think it can be done and that there is real demand for it,” said van den Biggelaar.
The company is backed by two investment firms and is already in talks with a number of high-speed train manufacturers.
Van den Biggaelar's entrepreneur father, Maarten, also part of the start-up, had previously engaged SNCF in talks about commencing cross-channel services more than ten years ago.
In recent weeks, The Telegraph reported that Richard Branson's Virgin Group is assessing the feasibility of new services to rival Eurostar, while Spanish company Evolyn has said it could launch high-speed services between London and Paris as soon as 2025.