Double
decker


trains
could
run
to
London,
according
to
rolling
stock
builder
Alstom,
which
has
supplied
two-deck
TGVs
to
countries
like
France
for
many
years.

The
British
structure
gauge
is
smaller
than
on
continental
Europe
and
could
not
accommodate
such
trains,
but
HS1
and
the
international
platforms
at
London
St
Pancras
were
built
to
the
more
generous
UIC
GB+
profile.
Larger
single
deck
trains
are
already
being
run
to
London
by
Eurostar,
because
since
HS1
opened
in
full
in
2007
they
no
longer
need
to
use
any
part
of
the
British
domestic
network.

Alstom’s
CEO
Henri
Poupart-Lafarge
told
the
Financial
Times
that
double
decked
trains
would
increase
traffic
on
routes
between
London
and
the
continent,
although
they
would
need
regulatory
approval,
which
might
take
‘some
years’.

He
continued:
‘The
double-decker
train
has
a
lot
of
advantages.
It’s
a
very
high-speed
train
with
the
lowest
cost
per
seat
and
the
highest
capacity.

‘We
can
propose
through
the
tunnel.
Whether
it’s
Eurostar
or
other
competitors,
we’ll
see.’

There
have
been
proposals
in
the
past
to
convert
parts
of
the
British
network
to
a
larger
structure
gauge,
but
they
have
all
foundered
on
objections
about
costs
and
practicality.

A
plan
to
enlarge
the
commuter
routes
from
London
Waterloo
was
rejected
because
of
the
scale
of
work
which
would
have
been
needed,
while
there
were
also
doubts
about
the
effects
on
station
dwell
times
of
more
passengers
using
the
same
number
of
doors.
Instead,
it
was
decided
to
improve
capacity
by
running
more
conventional
10-
and
12-car
trains.

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