Rishabh Jaiswal
(Reuters) -Bith Bilian Richard Branson’s Virgin Group aims to raise £ 700m ($ 900 million) to fund his plan to launch multi -channel rail services because he seems to compete with Eurostar, the company said on Sunday.
Virgin, who used to do Intercity Train Services in Britain, plans to launch services that would connect London with Paris and Brussels. It would also expand to Amsterdam in the future.
Virgin Group intends to raise £ 300 million in capital and £ 400 million, Reuters said, confirming a report at the Financial Times, which was the first to report on news.
He also plans to be an investor in the foundation stone in the project.
Virgin’s plans are for a high frequency service, which would be the first direct rival on the Eurostar 30-year network and could launch as early as 2029, the company said.
“The intersection path is ripe for change and would benefit from the competition,” a spokesman said in a statement with an email.
“Although Virgin is still not committed to starting a service, we are looking for investments from Likeamesed Partners to invest with Virginja and we are delighted with the progress so far,” the company said.
Eurostar told FT that he welcomed the development of rail services in Europe, adding that “competition in high speed railway sector is another example of increasing demand for rail traffic in Europe.”
Eurostar did not immediately respond to Reuters’ comment request.
($ 1 = 0.7740 pounds)
(Reporting Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengalur; Mounting William Mallard, Christopher Cushing and Tomasz Janowski)
