FRANCE/BELGIUM/UK: Eurostar has put its first ERTMS-equipped e300 train into commercial service, beginning a technically complex retrofit intended to keep its 1990s-era trainsets compliant during the transition to the Celestia fleet from 2031.

Eurostar e300 train under overhead wires in Brussels
A Eurostar e300 train in Brussels. Illustrative photo. Photo: Illias Teirlinck / Eurostar.

The European Union Agency for Railways authorised the modernised e300 on July 6, and the first commercial service operated on July 17, according to the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce. “By equipping 100% of our trains with ERTMS signalling, Eurostar is reinforcing its pioneering role as the backbone of European rail,” said Zelda Crambert, Eurostar’s director of rolling stock. The programme covers all eight e300 trainsets and, once completed, will extend ERTMS/ETCS across Eurostar’s entire current fleet.

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A regulatory deadline, not just an upgrade

Part of the urgency traces to Belgium, which requires all trains operating on its network to carry ETCS by Dec. 12, 2027, replacing the older TBL1+ system, according to MASTERIS, the industrial partner handling the conversion work. The prototype trainset completed static and dynamic testing in partnership with MASTERIS, SNCB and SNCF Voyageurs Matériel before receiving authorisation; industrial work is now underway at SNCB’s workshops in Namur, where Eurostar says it will keep only one trainset out of service at a time to protect commercial capacity during the rollout. The retrofit is intended to keep the e300s operational during Eurostar’s transition to the new Celestia fleet — a €2 billion investment covering a firm order for 30 Alstom Avelia Horizon trains and options for 20 more, with entry into service beginning in 2031.

What comes next for Eurostar’s e300 ERTMS programme

Watch for how quickly the remaining seven e300 units complete conversion, since Eurostar has committed to a one-trainset-at-a-time approach specifically to limit the impact on commercial capacity — a pace that will determine how long the retrofit programme takes overall. Also worth tracking: whether Belgium’s December 2027 ETCS deadline creates similar pressure on other operators running trains through the country, since Eurostar’s timeline is shaped by that regulatory cutoff as much as by its own fleet strategy.

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