SNCF

A group of companies, including British transport group Mobico (formerly National Express), plans to launch a high-speed train service to rival Eurostar using the Channel Tunnel.

"There has been discussions in a group of industry parties," a source close to the matter told AFP, confirming information first reported by the Financial Times.

A cooperation agreement for the transfer of knowhow on railway issues was signed on Monday between Greek State Minister responsible for transport Giorgos Gerapetritis and French Transport Minister Clement Beaune.

Countries in Europe on Dec. 23 began easing travel bans on Britain put in place to contain a new strain of COVID-19 that U.K. officials believe spreads faster, as the U.S. said it had now vaccinated one million people.

France and Britain will reopen cross-border travel on Dec. 23 after a snap 48-hour ban to curb the spread of a new coronavirus variant threatened U.K. supply chains.

Much of Europe swiftly banned British travelers and U.K. freight entering their nations after the discovery of a more transmissible variant of COVID-19 in Britain.

Striking French rail workers disrupted train services for the seventh day this month on April 18, spurning government calls to end the industrial action over reforms at the state-owned SNCF railway company.

The head of French railway operator SNCF said on April 9 that rolling strikes that began last week have cost the company around 100 million euros ($123 million) as staff carried out further stoppages.

The French national railway company announced today that there will be a strike of its employees today and tomorrow (April 3 and 4), which will make it difficult for passengers to travel to Europe and across the country, Darik reported.

A rolling strike against railway reforms that is expected to cause traffic chaos is not justified, according to a small majority of French people in a poll published on Sunday, Reuters reports.

A showdown between French railway workers and President Emmanuel Macron's government grew more threatening on Tuesday after an internal labor union message suggested rail workers could paralyze services even outside of official strike days.

Commuters were baffled earlier this week when they set off on a trip to Woolwich, south east London and arrived in Athens, Greece, instead.

They arrived at their usual stop to see London tube maps were replaced by signs for the Athens underground.