EUROSTAR has published an independent report produced by Public First which says that the high-speed operator supported economic activity in Britain worth close to £2bn in 2025, when measured in terms of gross added value (GVA).
According to the report, entitled Fast track to growth: Boosting Britain through international high-speed rail, the direct economic footprint of Eurostar operations from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam is valued at valued at £213m a year. A further £770m a year is added by the company’s supply chain footprint, with Eurostar purchasing from over 650 businesses in Britain.
Gains from the additional tourist spending in Britain generated by direct cross-border high-speed services to London are assessed at £645m a year. The productivity benefits to businesses arising from employees having more time working when travelling by high-speed rail when compared with air are worth £339m a year, according to the report.
The economic impact of spending by Eurostar’s 1370 employees is assessed at £11m a year, supporting 150 jobs in the wider economy. In total, the report says that Eurostar supports around 23,000 jobs in Britain, including its own employees and 6850 within its supply chain at providers of catering supplies, security services and rolling stock maintenance, as well as other businesses.
Over 14,200 jobs are supported through the increased spending resulting from the additional 500,000 tourists that visit Britain each year due to Eurostar, including jobs in tourism-reliant businesses such as hotels and restaurants and their supply chains. According to the report, the economic activity supported by Eurostar in Britain generates around £87,500 of GVA per job, approximately 9% above the national average.
The reports forecasts that the number of jobs supported by Eurostar will rise by 70% to 40,000 and its economic contribution by 40% to £2.8bn year by 2035. This will be mainly driven by Eurostar’s “committed” £1.7bn investment in its new fleet of Alstom Celestia double-deck trains, due to enter in service in 2031, and enabling the company to launch new services to Frankfurt and Geneva.
Depot expansion
To maintain its new fleet, Eurostar plans to develop its Temple Mills International (TMI) facility in east London, where according to the report 350 new jobs would be created in addition to the existing 450 posts. However, this scenario may be affected by Britain’s rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), granting Eurostar’s future competitor Virgin Trains access to TMI, where according to Eurostar there is at present insufficient capacity to accommodate another operator.
When ORR granted Virgin Trains access to TMI in October 2025, Britain’s rail minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said that the government was exploring plans to provide new depot capacity in Britain for high-speed fleet maintenance, backed by private investment.
“This research shows what Eurostar already delivers and why international rail is worth investing in for the future,” says Eurostar CEO, Gwendoline Cazenave.
“The UK now needs a bold vision to match the private investment on the table - more depot capacity, a bold expansion of St Pancras and a seamless border.”
