THE French train maker Alstom and French ministers are calling for Eurostar's acquisition of Siemens Velaro trains to be quashed, on the grounds that the rolling stock will not comply with Channel Tunnel safety rules.

Eurostar unveiled a mock-up of its new e320 train in London, at an event attended by transport secretary Philip Hammond.

The new trains are due in service in 2014, and will allow Eurostar to expand its network to such destinations as Geneva, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Lyon.

But the Velaro sets represent at least one major departure from the existing Eurostars because they have distributed traction, with motors under each coach, rather than power cars at each end of the train.

The safety rules which govern operation through the Tunnel are currently under review, and some requirements may be removed, but until now distributed traction had not been permitted.

The board of Eurostar International voted to proceed with the acquisition last Friday, but their plans have angered both the French government and French train builder Alstom, which has supplied all TGVs so far, including the original build of Eurostars in the early 1990s.

European law does not allow a government to officially favour companies in its own country, so the statements which have been issued concentrate on the safety issues.

Transport and environment ministers in Paris said they were ‘amazed’ by Eurostar's decision to choose Siemens Velaros, and called upon the operator to change the terms of its contract to conform with current safety rules.

Alstom has also entered the fray, by saying that ‘current security rules applying to trains travelling through the Channel Tunnel conform to the highest possible standards and consequently do not permit the use of the trains that Eurostar states it has purchased’.

Further conflicts may well lie ahead. A Deutsche Bahn ICE set is due to arrive at St Pancras International on 19 October having made an official test run to London, and the use of German ICEs has also been criticised in France.

The German response has been to accuse the French government of trying to limit Channel Tunnel traffic to its own trains and operators, such as Eurostar, in which it has an interest.

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