The two companies have both mooted plans to bring international rail travel to Birmingham’s doorstep using the new high-speed link, which could mean rail journeys from Birmingham to Paris and Brussels in just three hours.

But both train operators said the idea could not be fully contemplated until more details about the private-public funding strategy and the proposed route were firmed up.

The high-speed line from London to the West Midlands could be built by 2020 with the £7 billion funding possibly coming from a public-private partnership.

Tony Collins, chief executive of Virgin Trains, said: “There are complementary opportunities here and one of those is to link Birmingham directly to the continent via the proposed High Speed Two route.

“Would Virgin be interested in running a direct service from Birmingham to Paris or Brussels? Without a shadow of a doubt. With the Channel Tunnel becoming an open access operation we would be very interested in expanding into Europe. Competition is vital in making these routes a success. In theory a link could be put in from Wembley to St Pancras before the introduction of High Speed Two.

“That would mean we could link into Eurostar’s service directly from Birmingham. Passengers would then avoid hauling luggage through London from Euston to St Pancras. We could create that market now then improve it when High Speed Two comes along.”

Eurostar also threw its hat into the ring, saying it was possible to link Brussels and Paris directly to the West Midlands. Simon Montague, director of communications for Eurostar in London, said: “We would love the opportunity to run high-speed services within the UK beyond London to the West Midlands, Birmingham and even to Manchester and Scotland.

“Obviously it needs someone to build the line first but then, of course, we will be gagging to run trains in competition with whoever else wants to run a service as well. There’s no doubt in Eurostar’s mind that if you are to build a high-speed line from London to Birmingham to Manchester and beyond then it will be extremely attractive.

“It will radically shorten journey times and if it connects to Heathrow it will transform the way in which people can connect to the UK’s biggest airport and then make their long haul journeys to other parts of the world.”

Sir David Rowland, chairman of the High Speed Two project, is advising Government on the best route for the new line, which is expected to run from central London to Heathrow, through the West Midlands to Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

There has been some debate about where the line should go, whether it should stop at a city centre station or at Birmingham International Airport.

Sir David has indicated he prefers a city centre location, although Virgin Trains said it would prefer to run trains to the airport as it believes extra business will come their way by the inevitable development of the land between the site and the city centre.

But Eurostar said passengers would prefer a city centre destination, even though it would probably make it more expensive.

The airport has launched a campaign to encourage the Government to look at having two high-speed stations in the region – one at Birmingham International and one in the city centre.

Sir David is expected to give his detailed plans to the Government in December.

See also:

Eurostar and Virgin on Britain's high speed rail future

Birmingham Post: Aug 17 2009
by Paul Bradley,

As Sir David Rowland’s team of railway researchers devise a plan for Britain’s high speed rail future, reporter Paul Bradley spoke to two of the big players bidding to run services on the line. Here’s what Eurostar and Virgin Trains had to say for themselves.

Eurostar believes European travel is on the precipice of something huge. With potentially enormous profits up for grabs it is backing the High Speed Two project full tilt.

“We are genuinely on the verge of a revolution in the way we travel in Europe and that includes bringing high speed rail to Britain, beyond London, into the West Midlands and Scotland,” said Simon Montague, director of communications for Eurostar in London.

“No matter how many more motorways you build the journeys will still take the same amount of time and the roads will still fill up.

“When it comes to aviation, the journey will still take as long no matter how many terminals you have.

“We, the railways, can reduce journey time significantly and bring cities closer together. We believe high speed rail will become the mode of choice for short haul journeys in the next 20 to 30 years.”

Birmingham Airport and its carriers will have a say on that matter and so, the question of which station arises again.

“From the point of view of any passenger the most convenient station is a city centre station.

“Clearly that is more expensive but at the same time there are more benefits to having it there than outside the city.

“Ultimately that is something for the planners to work out but from Eurostar’s point of view that is what passengers want. Our experience from London, Paris and Brussels tells us this.”

Virgin’s views on which Birmingham station should host the HS2 trains will not please Eurostar.

Tony Collins, chief executive at Virgin Trains, said: “I think it will be phenomenally advantageous for Birmingham International Airport to have the high speed trains stopping there.

“I think you will see a surge of activity from the South to Birmingham.

“The city centre will be dragged out towards the airport as well and the wasteland that lies between the two sites will be ripe for business and residential development.”

He added: “I think we have to get away from the idea of engineering-driven projects and start to look at things in terms of demand. But I also think there needs to be more competition from the private sector and this is where there is a huge opportunity.

“When you have a monopoly supplier such as Network Rail then you won’t necessarily get the best value for money. Why not bring in a toll system like we have on the roads.

“Private companies could finance sections of the track and then charge a fee to rail operators for using it.”

With the building of the line little more than a proposal at present, Virgin says that development work must be carried out now so the rail network is in good shape for HS2’s introduction in 15 years time.

By 2025 Virgin hopes to link the West Coast with St Pancras and Heathrow, reduce track times to Scotland to three hours 45 minutes, and extend all of its Pendolino fleet to 11 carriages.

“The need for rail travel will grow extremely quickly over the next few years and there will be a demand for both high speed and classic lines.

“They key is that we build a strong and reliable network around the High Speed Two project.

“And the fact that passengers won’t be on these trains for a good 15 years means now is the time to get to work.”