Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn plan London–Germany high-speed rail

Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore a direct high-speed rail connection between London and major German cities, with routes planned for the early 2030s.

• Main announcement: The MoU commits Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn to explore direct services between London and cities such as Cologne and Frankfurt, targeted to start in the early 2030s; services would use Eurostar’s double-decker Celestia fleet (offering 20% more capacity and up to 50% energy savings vs the existing fleet), with approximate journey times of ~4 hours to Cologne and just over 5 hours to Frankfurt.
• Background and details: The announcement follows the first meeting of a joint UK-Germany taskforce in Berlin on 25 November to examine barriers and implementation; the article records statements from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave, and DB board member Michael Peterson, and notes it coincides with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s 3-day state visit (including a business roundtable at No10).
  • Taskforce meeting: 25 November, Berlin, subject: first joint UK-Germany taskforce to pave the way for direct international rail and address barriers to services.
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