In 2013, I published for free a Business Case to show the technical feasibility of a direct, overnight train leaving Manchester Piccadilly around 11pm and arriving at Paris Gare du Nord around 8am. Almost everything was in place – spare trains, track, station capacity – but the politics of multiple railway companies and of London-centric strategies moved against this idea.

Happily, things are changing, and in particular there have been some key technical breakthroughs in August 2026.

In summary:

In 2012 an independent outline business case proposed an overnight train from Manchester Piccadilly to Paris and Brussels, using trains and tracks that already existed, without public subsidy. It was ahead of its time, and time has now largely caught up with it.

Three of its central claims have been vindicated. 

• First, that excessive Channel Tunnel and HS1 access charges were the real barrier: both have since been cut, following European Commission enforcement action and regulatory reform. 

• Second, that open access competition would come: in August 2026 the regulator approved track access for Virgin Trains, with Trenitalia targeting services from 2029 — the first genuine competition since 1994. 

• Third, that night trains were a viable market: a Continent-wide sleeper revival, led by ÖBB and new entrant European Sleeper, has proved it.

Two things have moved against it: the purpose-built Regional Eurostar trains have been scrapped, and Brexit has made the border arrangements at a regional station harder to establish.

The strategic point stands. Every current proposal terminates in London. The North’s case for direct European connection remains unanswered — and the market conditions to answer it are better now than at any point since the Channel Tunnel opened.

There is a page on my website with the full documents – https://tonybaldwinson.com/archives/trains-from-mcr-to-paris/