Rail Industry News – Late October 2025
Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Eurostar has revealed plans to run double-decker trains through the Channel Tunnel for the first time.
The cross-Channel rail operator has confirmed it will order up to 50 trains from manufacturer Alstom, eventually increasing the size of its fleet by nearly a third. The expansion plans would include investing heavily in a crucial London depot, it said.
But questions remain over whether the facility has enough space for both Eurostar and potential rival operators to use it.
Political and business leaders from Leeds and Sheffield are heading to Westminster to make the case for “transformational rail investment” between the two city regions.
Leeds City Council leader James Lewis and Sheffield City Council leader Councillor Tom Hunt, alongside West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, will be speaking at the event in the House of Commons on Wednesday (October 22), calling for much-improved services between the two cities and key investment in their main rail stations.
Joined by representatives from across the public and private sectors, they will call for the government to deliver rail improvements between Leeds and Sheffield as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail.
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A major boost for the East Midlands’ manufacturing sector has been confirmed as work begins in Derby on 10 new trains for London’s Elizabeth line.
The new Aventra Class 345 trains are being built at Alstom’s historic Litchurch Lane Works, supporting hundreds of high value engineering jobs and securing vital work for the region’s rail supply chain.
The £220m government-funded order from Transport for London (TfL) will enable increased capacity on the Elizabeth line, which has quickly become the UK’s busiest railway since opening in 2022, carrying around 800,000 passengers a day.
