Jacques Gounon, the boss of Getlink, which operates the Eurotunnel infrastructure and the Eurotunnel shuttle service, said he hoped a direct Eurostar passenger service between London and Bordeaux would begin running through the tunnel within five years, and said there were long-term plans to add a new line between the English capital and the French Riviera, amid ongoing questions over the future viability of private jets in a climate crisis.

“We’re working on a London-Bordeaux route,” Gounon told Europe 1’s La France Bouge programme, adding: “There is a market in the long term, the more we talk about decarbonisation and the end of private jets, which is London to Côte d’Azur because it remains a highly attractive place for the British.”

The timing of any future service remains unknown, Gounon admitted. “In the field of railways and Franco-British diplomatic relations, the slightest progress means a bit of technique, a lot of conviction.” 

And, confusingly, Gounon’s comments on Monday ran contrary to the previously reported future plans of Eurostar.

A London-Bordeaux route has been in the pipeline for some time. A feasibility study on the adaptations required for making Bordeaux Saint Jean station ready for international passengers was launched in 2018; while merger plans unveiled earlier this year between Eurostar and Thalys indicated that the plans were moving apace.

Earlier this month, Eurostar announced Gwendoline Cazanave would take over as CEO from Jacques Damas. It also announced plans to focus on core routes: London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

At the end of August, it announced it would stop its London to Disneyland Paris routes in the summer of 2023 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit. The company had said it had “taken the decision to no longer operate the direct London-Marne-la-Vallée route in the summer of 2023,” but no decision was made for the following year. 

“We will review our options for 2024 in the course of next year,” the train operator said.