London St. Pancras High Speed and Eurostar also aim to launch direct trains to Germany and Switzerland, agreed to take “important measures” to expand the capabilities of St. Pancras International. The letter of intent outlines a three-stage plan that begins with a review of “short-term improvements within the current footprint.” This will bring 2,700 passengers per hour over the next three to four years, including “optimizing security and border crossing processes.”
Phase 2 involves improving connections between the international region and the main concourse and “supporting passenger flow and customer experience.” This is expected by 2028. Finally, Phase 3 took place in the 2030s and includes “further investigation of long-term opportunities to promote growth and further strengthen our capabilities.” This will consider the possibility that the flow of arrivals could move upstairs, officials say. Known for working on Stratford International and other major projects, Architects Hawkinsbrown is contracting to “design and provide a rethinked first-floor layout” to the International Zone to exceed more than twice the current capacity of St. Pancras.
The international zone of St Pancras International can currently handle around 1,800 passengers per hour, and demand for rail travel to other countries is projected to triple by interchanges, with 11 to 35 million passengers per year by 2040.
This comes after EuroStar announced plans to launch direct services in the early 2030s to connect the UK with Frankfurt in Germany and Frankfurt in Geneva, Switzerland.
These routes will be provided with a fleet of up to 50 new trains, which are around 2 billion euros (£1.7 billion).
Between London and Frankfurt, travel time is approximately 5 hours and between London and Geneva is 5 hours 20 minutes.
Eurostar CEO Gwendolyn Cazeneve told PA News in June:
“Despite the challenging economic situation, the Eurostar is growing and has bold ambitions for the future.
“Our new fleet will make a new destination for customers a reality, especially the first train to be directed between London and Germany and between London and Switzerland.
“We have a new golden age of international sustainable travel here.”
