Launched in 1994 following completion of the Channel Tunnel, Eurostar has been the sole operator of intra-continental rail services between the UK and mainland Europe ever since, seeing off several ultimately failed attempts to challenge its supremacy.
But the landscape looks as likely as it ever has to change in the near future; in November, it was reported Virgin Group founder Richard Branson was keen to re-enter the rail market, four years after Virgin Trains ceased operating in December 2019, to take on Eurostar.
