The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is inviting applications from Eurostar and other interested parties to operate new train services through the Channel Tunnel.

Applications will be crucial as part of the next stages in assigning access to Temple Mills International depot (TMI), which is a vital part in providing services from the UK to continental Europe.

Earlier this year, the rail regulator commissioned an independent assessment of capacity at Temple Mills after receiving applications for access to it from several potential operators.

In its initial findings, the assessment showed that Temple Mills already has some capacity available for more trains without any changes to current practices, and further investment could provide more capacity.

Stakeholders, including Eurostar, were then allowed to submit evidence to change or support the report’s findings, and after reviewing this evidence, the regulator concluded that the independent assessment accurately reflects the available capacity.

Eurostar and the other applicants now need to provide the regulator with more details of their plans to enable it to decide on the best capacity allocation.

Although the regulator will work quickly to assess the plans. It will ensure enough time is available for Eurostar and other applicants to present a robust case.

While it expects to reach a conclusion on access to Temple Mills later this year, the ORR will follow its legal duties in directing access and use its established approach in deciding competing demands for rail capacity, including:

• Considering the available capacity at Temple Mills.
• What impact proposed services will have on operational performance.
• Financial and operational readiness and viability of the proposed services.
• Economic and societal benefits associated with the applications.
• Views of stakeholders.

“The growing appetite to provide international rail services is great news for passengers. We now need operators to set out more detail on their proposals at pace, and will work quickly and as thoroughly as possible to determine the best use of capacity at Temple Mills.”

Martin Jones, Office of Rail and Road deputy director, access and international