Major train line that would link UK with Spain & Italy killed by budget airlines

A HUGE train line hoped to connect the entire UK to Spain and Portugal – but was sadly scrapped.

The Eurotunnel plans from the 1980s show an extensive route between the UK and Europe, as far up as Scotland and as far across as Poland and Italy.

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The map showed destinations in the UK including Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, as well as stops at Manchester, Newcastle, York, Birmingham and Cardiff, along with London and Folkestone.

The train would then travel directly to Calais, Brussels, Paris, Lyon and Marseille.

However, the train line would link up to lots of other countries too.

Destinations included Lisbon in Portugal, Madrid and Barcelona in Spain as well as Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples in Italy.

It would even stop at Copenhagen, Warsaw, Berlin, Munich and Vienna, as well as other spots in Germany and France.

The map says: “By 1993, you’ll be able to hop on a train from Birmingham to Brussels.

“Or catch the 8:23am from Newcastle to Nice (change in Paris).

“For the final section of rail lowered into place somewhere below the Channel, Eurotunnel won’t simply be making history.

“It’ll also create the single biggest unified rail network in the world.

“So for the first time, you’ll find yourself getting from A to B without having to worry about C.”

Sadly, the ambitious project never went ahead.

Twitter user Helene first posted the image and sparked debate about why this was online.

Many cited the emergence of low-cost flights for killing off the plans.

One person wrote: “Low cost airlines from aviation market deregulation killed it.”

Another agreed: “Regional Eurostar services were planned in the 90s but abandoned fairly soon (competition with airlines/journey times/BR privatisation/etc).”

Airlines such as Ryanair once offered fares as cheap as £4.99 across Europe, although these have since been scrapped since Covid.

The current Eurotunnel only connects in the UK at Folkestone to Calais in France.

And Eurostar is also scrapping many of its routes too, once connecting the UK to France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

UK stations including Ashford, Stratford and Ebbsfleet have already been scrapped, with hopes of them returning no sooner than 2025.

Direct trains from the UK to Disneyland Paris are being scrapped this week, and routes to Amsterdam are being paused for all of 2024.

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