Eurostar set to anger French with train order

Channel Tunnel rail company Eurostar is expected to announce a £500 million order for German-built trains today, sparking a row with the French government.

The firm, which operates high-speed services to Paris and Brussels from London's St Pancras station, is thought to have opted for Velaro-D trains from German company Siemens.

Such a choice is likely to anger the French government, which has been pressing for the new trains to be built by French company Alstom.

It is possible the new trains could be used on the proposed 33 billion UK high-speed rail network - known as High Speed 2 (HS2) - a project that is a key factor in the UK government's transport policy.

UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond hopes that work can start on HS2 by 2015.

He is due to join Eurostar chief executive Nicolas Petrovic at a Eurostar media conference in London today.

The new trains are expected to be around 400 metres long, about the same length as the existing Eurostar services that can accommodate about 800 passengers.