Cologne-Brussels-London a reality under new plans, 1 million Germans expected to use proposed service
Travel Desk
Londoners planning trips to the continent will soon have a wider choice of operators, under plans that may open up the market to other European Union operators including Germany's ICE.
A proposed change to the safety laws would allow according to the FT "larger, continental sized carriages to the UK".
Currently High Speed One, between London and the tunnel has higher bridges and wider tunnels than continental railways, however only freight trains can use these tunnels at present.
Speaking to the FT the CEO of Deutsche Bahn, the German state owned train operator which operates ICE trains, hinted in a German newspaper that Cologne-Brussels-London was "very attractive", with an estimated 1 million Germans using this service each year.
Regulators looking at the possible opening of the market are demanding as a pre-requisite that trains have a minimum length of 375 metres length between escape doors and the main tunnels.
Germanys Siemens is believed to be working on 400 metre train for China, which could be introduced on the new routes if approved by the regulators.
Immigration and tough security measures required by the British authorities are not believed, according to the FT, to be major obstacles
