Virgin Group is set to invest £700 million in launching high-speed trains connecting the UK, France, Belgium, and Netherlands, challenging Eurostar by 2029.

Virgin Group is looking to raise £700 million to fund its plan to launch trains between London and mainland Europe by the end of the decade.

The group, owned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, said it could launch a train service to compete with current operator Eurostar by 2029.

According to media reports, Virgin Group wants to raise £300 million in equity and £400 million in debt to finance the project, which would initially run services from London’s St Pancras station to Paris and Brussels before eventually adding trains to Amsterdam – all routes currently served by Eurostar.

The move comes just two weeks after the operator of the UK’s high-speed rail line and Eurotunnel, which runs the Channel Tunnel, agreed a new deal to expand rail connectivity across the English Channel.

Virgin has significant experience in running train services having operated domestic UK rail franchises between 1997 and 2019.

Dutch start-up rail operator Heuro has also expressed an interest in running services between Amsterdam and London.

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