Eurostar Confirms Direct London-Antwerp Route as Channel Tunnel Rivals Circle

Eurostar has confirmed the launch of a new direct service between London and Antwerp from 14 December, a rare concrete addition to its network at a moment when the cross-Channel operator is bracing for the end of its three-decade monopoly on the tunnel.

The service will add the Belgian port city as a stop on the existing London to Amsterdam route, running up to four times a day from St Pancras International. The direct journey will take two hours and 41 minutes, cutting roughly 20 per cent from the current time, which requires a change at Brussels-Midi and a connecting SNCB train. Fares start from around £51 one way, and tickets are already on sale.

The move is notable for actually materialising. Eurostar has trailed a string of prospective routes over the past year, signing memoranda of understanding for direct London links to Switzerland this summer and to Cologne and Frankfurt last December, but those services are not expected before the early 2030s and remain unconfirmed. Antwerp is the one genuinely new destination arriving this year.

The catch is that the route runs one way only. There is no direct return from Antwerp to London, because the Belgian station lacks the dedicated UK border and customs facilities required for tunnel-bound trains, a constraint that continues to shape which cross-Channel services are commercially viable. Return passengers must route back via Brussels.

The announcement lands as competition intensifies. Britain's Office for Rail and Road has cleared Virgin Trains to access the critical Temple Mills depot, paving the way for the Branson-backed operator to run up to 20 daily return services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from around 2030, while Gemini Trains and others also eye the market. Eurostar is responding with a €2 billion order for a new Alstom double-decker fleet and backing a major expansion of St Pancras capacity.