French train startup secures license to launch high-speed rail competitor

A French rail startup has secured an operating license to launch high-speed trains connecting cities from Paris.

Velvet, France’s first independent high-speed train operator, said it received approval from the country’s transport ministry to operate on Tuesday.

The company aims to “meet the rapidly growing demand for travel along the Atlantic coast” and rival state-owned SNCF with commercial services from 2028.

Velvet said it will add 10 million seats between the cities of Angers, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Paris on direct journeys averaging two hours.

Services will only run pending final safety certification from France's rail regulator.

The company was founded by former SNCF director Rachel Picard and founder of Alpha Trains Tim Jackson and is currently financed by investment fund Antin Infrastructure Partners.

An order for 12 double-decker high-speed trains manufactured by Alstom – the “Avelia Horizon” – was placed in September 2024.

The first Velvet train was christened at the Alstom site in La Rochelle in April, with passenger cars currently under construction at the plant’s metal fabrication shop.

Testing plans to begin on French tracks in 2026.

According to the Velvet website: “By obtaining its railways undertaking license, Velvet takes a key step towards its first journeys in 2028. This concrete advance allows it to prepare its future operations and continue the company’s ramp-up.”

In the UK, the first high-speed platforms at the railway station slated to become Britain’s busiest have been constructed at Old Oak Common.

The six new completed platforms, which are 450m long, were revealed as part of the HS2 expansion on 13 August.

Old Oak Common is set to be the UK’s “busiest, best-connected station” with 14 platforms – six for high-speed services and eight at ground level for conventional services on the Elizabeth line, Great Western Main Line and Heathrow Express.

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