Eurostar to Launch UK’s First Double-Decker Train Fleet

Eurostar has announced plans to introduce the UK’s first major fleet of double-decker trains, marking a significant milestone in British rail travel.

The company will purchase up to 50 new two-level trains from French manufacturer Alstom under a €2 billion (£1.7 billion) agreement. The trains will operate across Eurostar’s entire network, including routes between London St Pancras, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam via the Channel Tunnel.

An initial order for 30 trains has been confirmed, with the option to add 20 more. The fully electric fleet, named Eurostar Celestia—from the Latin caelestis, meaning “heavenly”—will enter service in May 2031 after delivery in January of that year.

Compared with Eurostar’s existing Siemens-built e320 single-decker trains, the Celestia models will offer 20% more seating capacity, a lower floor, and an overall height increase of 16 cm. Despite being double-deckers, they won’t have twice as many seats due to the space required for stairs.

Once introduced, Eurostar’s total fleet will expand to as many as 67 trains. The company also plans to launch new routes from St Pancras to Frankfurt and Geneva in the coming years.

This marks the first major double-decker operation in the UK since the 1950s, when two prototype SR Class 4DD trains ran between Dartford and Charing Cross but were retired in 1971 for being too cramped and costly. While such trains are common in Europe, most UK rail lines cannot support them because of limited bridge heights and narrow clearances. However, the high-speed line from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel was built to European standards, allowing taller trains to run.

Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave described the order as a “milestone” in the company’s growth plan to increase annual passenger numbers from 19.5 million in 2024 to 30 million. She said passengers can expect a “special experience,” including more legroom, extra space for bikes and wheelchairs, and unique “surprise spaces.” Travelers in all classes will be able to choose between upper and lower deck seating at no extra cost.

Alstom’s CEO, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, said the partnership reflects Eurostar’s commitment to combining “technological performance, energy efficiency, and passenger comfort,” supporting a vision of sustainable European mobility.

Eurostar plans to maintain both its new and existing fleets at the Temple Mills depot in east London, which will undergo an €80 million (£70 million) upgrade. The company could soon face competition on Channel Tunnel services, with potential rivals including Virgin Group, Italy’s FS Italiane Group, and Gemini Trains.

Eurostar is majority-owned by France’s state railway operator SNCF. The UK sold its stake in 2015 for £757 million.