Virgin has beaten off three other competitors for access to Eurostar’s train maintenance facilities near London, an essential component to starting services. 

If Virgin begins running trains through the Channel Tunnel, it will end Eurostar’s more than 30-year monopoly, meaning reduced fares and more frequent services.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the rail regulator which approved Virgin’s access to the Temple Mills International depot, said it was an “important first step towards being able to operate cross border train services using the channel tunnel”.

The ORR said Virgin “has the strongest prospects of making the best use of the capacity” at Temple Mills, adding: “VTE plans to carry six million passengers a year, invest £700 million in its project, and create 400 new jobs in the UK.”

Virgin beat off competition from Italy’s Trenitalia plus start-up companies Gemini and Evolyn. 

Martin Jones, the ORR’s deputy director, access and international, said: “With this decision we are backing customer choice and competition in international rail, unlocking up to £700 million in private sector investment and stimulating growth. 

“While there is still some way to go before the first new services can run, we stand ready to work with Virgin Trains as their plans develop.”

The ORR said it approved Virgin’s application because it offered “higher potential benefits than Trenitalia’s “and because we have a higher confidence of its ability to start operations promptly than we do in Gemini or Evolyn’s applications”.

The ORR added it was “highly confident” Virgin would be able to finance its planned launch into the market.