Newly formed train company Heuro aims to replace the Eurostar between Amsterdam, Paris and London from 2028. RailTech spoke to Dutch founder Roemer van den Biggelaar. “We just want to lower prices and get more people off the plane and off the train.”
Heuro’s core team currently consists of a trio, including father and son Van den Bigeler. Father Maarten, a prominent Dutch entrepreneur, was already negotiating with French railway company SNCF ten years ago to form a new international airline. “SNCF gave up on that at the time. They were still affiliated with NS and we didn’t want to disturb them,” says Roemer van den Bigeler.
That was the end of it at the time, but as the rail market becomes more and more open, father and son now think it has a chance to succeed. Van den Bigerard: “I’ve always been interested in it since I was little. Now we’re trying again, but together.”
Italian example
Compared to 10 years ago, much has changed when it comes to opening up the rail market. “Although Trenitalia is currently successfully operating trains within France between Milan and Paris, for a long time the French rail operator SNCF Résaux has had to allocate capacity, creating a major bottleneck. We also see that the newly established Le Train says it is authorized to run on French railways.”
Entrepreneurs are also drawing inspiration from the example of Italy’s Italo. Since the company began competing with state-run Trenitalia’s high-speed trains in 2012, fares have fallen and passenger numbers have increased. “We want to get people off planes,” Van den Bigeler said. “There are still 55 round-trip flights between Amsterdam and London, which I think is a lot. And we have a really nice high-speed rail tunnel. Personally, I think traveling by train is 10 times more fun than flying. I think there are still capacity issues going into London from a passport control perspective, but I think we can sort that out.”
The inspiration for the name “Heuro” comes from high speed and Europe. This carrier focuses purely on international connectivity. In addition to London, the entrepreneur says, there is also a natural connection to Paris. “Eurostar (formerly Thalys) is often full. We hope that if we run trains there as well, prices will come down.” He has not yet commented on Huro ticket prices. However, it will probably be cheaper than the price of a Eurostar ticket. And if Heuro is successful, van den Biggelaar says other connections in Europe will follow.
high frequency
Between Amsterdam and Paris, Huro aims to offer 16 rides per day, of which two will arrive from Groningen in the morning and two will arrive in Groningen again in the evening. For Amsterdam-London, the goal is for him to do 15 rides per day. This number is likely based on demand from passengers. This was the subject of “extensive analysis” by Marvell Test. The company, where Mr. van den Biggelaar runs the venture capital arm, conducts market research and provides data-driven advice for corporate strategy. Van den Bigeler: “We think it’s possible and there’s a real demand for it.”
The frequency of 15-16 flights per day is significantly higher than Eurostar’s current frequency, especially to London. Eurostar operates four flights a day to London. According to the latest timetables, the frequency of flights to Paris varies, but there are approximately 11 flights on weekdays and 6 on weekends.
Former NS board members participate
The entrepreneurs behind Heuro “think of themselves as project developers” and are bringing in all kinds of talent from across the rail sector for the expertise they need. “For the purchase of the trains, we have been advised by a former director of NS, and several industry experts from the relevant countries are involved in the project. In this way, we are building a team and network to move the project forward. A good management team, preferably within the railway sector itself, is needed to run the company. “We ourselves are good at building brands and selling tickets,” says van den Bigeler.
For many startups in the rail operator sector, one of the biggest hurdles is finding financing to purchase rail equipment while it is still uncertain whether rail lines will be permitted. “We know it’s difficult and will continue to be difficult. At Heuro, he brought in two investment companies, one in New York and one in Switzerland. They worked with us to They’ll do the fundraising for you.”
New high-speed trains cost a lot of money and are a big investment. Huro plans to buy trains with speeds over 300km/h and is negotiating with multiple manufacturers to do so. Each train can seat up to 550 passengers. Mr. Heuro mentions his Frecciarossa 1000 from Hitachi Railway as a reference vehicle. To explain, Trenitalia he received a loan of 550 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) two years ago. This is enough to pay half the cost of purchasing 34 of these Frecciarossa trains.
A wave of competition?
This is not Huro’s only announcement this week that it will compete with Eurostar. Last weekend, British newspaper The Telegraph reported that British Richard Branson’s Virgin Group company is also planning to run high-speed trains through the Channel Tunnel.
Additionally, Arriva and Qbuzz previously applied to the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) for a connection to Paris. Arriva will launch flights between Groningen and Paris from June 2026, while Qbuzz will launch flights between Amsterdam and Paris from January 2027. Additionally, new player Evolin was in the news last month. It has reportedly reached an agreement with French train manufacturer Alstom to purchase 12 high-speed trains. A train connecting Britain and continental Europe. Alstom toned it down: “We have only reached a short-term agreement for initial engineering activities for the train system in case the parties ultimately conclude a contract for the purchase and delivery of a certain number of trains.” I responded. However, this is subject to Evolyn’s ability to secure project funding.
Italian train operator Trenitalia also indicated it would consider connections to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin. Carlo Palasciano Villamagna, chief international officer of parent company FS Group, told the Financial Times: “We are currently looking at how we can potentially become a partner or a player in that region of Europe. I’m doing it,” he said.
Currently, those wanting to travel by high-speed train between Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London have no choice but to take Eurostar, but that could change quite a bit in a few years. The question is whether there will be enough space on the tracks to provide the desired frequencies if the plans and necessary financing of all these new and existing players take off. Despite the announcement of upcoming competitors, van den His Bigeler still sees no problem with it. He said, “The more competition, the better.”