A Eurostar train enters the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles, northern France, on April 4, 2025.
Executives at SNCF, France’s national railway company, like to repeat that “Europe is the playing field for high-speed rail.” It’s a highly profitable sector in which the French rail operator claims “a 43% market share,” CEO of SNCF Voyageurs Christophe Fanichet said on Friday, October 17. He was presenting a new structure for the company’s passenger division, aimed at strengthening its hand in an “increasingly international rail market,” in the words of Fanichet.
SNCF is determined to grow that market share just as its longtime monopoly faces mounting pressure. Its strategy hinges on an aggressive push into international routes, especially those using the Channel Tunnel, where roughly half a dozen potential rivals are eyeing strong demand and untapped capacity.
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Eurostar, the company majority-owned by SNCF, announced on October 22 that it had ordered 50 high-speed trains, with an option for 20 more, from French manufacturer Alstom. The €2 billion investment – including €1.4 billion for the trains – will see the first units delivered in 2031. “Placing this milestone order marks the concrete realization of Eurostar’s ambitious growth strategy,” said Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave, referring to the company’s merger with Thalys. The 2022 merger, which combined services to the United Kingdom and Northern Europe, was designed to strengthen Eurostar’s offer, visibility and growth in cross-border travel.
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