22
Oct
Transport focus: Opportunities and challenges for Eurostar rivals
High-speed rail is one of the hottest transport investment tickets in Europe. Multiple players have announced plans to launch competing high-speed rail services on the underutilized UK-France corridor. Yet despite growing interest and the apparent market opportunity, few of these initiatives have gained real traction. This panel will explore the economic, technical and regulatory hurdles facing these ventures – and assess whether such projects are truly viable for infrastructure investors.
- What are the major operational risks for new entrants? How do these differ from more conventional rail investments?
- How attractive are potential returns and how does the risk profile compare to more traditional brownfield transport assets?
- Are lenders supportive of these projects? What makes financing such ventures particularly difficult?
- What technical and logistical challenges need to be overcome – such as access to rolling stock and depots?
- From a policy and regulatory standpoint, how accessible is the market? Are barriers to entry insurmountable or underestimated?
- Are there lessons to be learned from previous liberalization attempts in European rail markets – and can they inform new bids for cross-Channel services?
-
SpeakersNick Roumpis Assistant Editor, EMEA Infralogic
Nathan Williams Rail Finance Manager Apex Rail
Toby Walker Head of Project Finance & Rail Distribution EMEA Credit Agricole
Catherine Pihan-le Bars Deputy CEO LE TRAIN
Nuno Ribeiro Partner VTM Global
Confirm cancellation
Something went wrong.
An error occurred trying to play the stream. Please reload the page and try again.
CloseSign-up to join the ION Analytics Community to:
- Register for events
- Access market insights
- Download reports
- 5+ years in international consulting, most recently as a strategy consultant to ASEAN in Cambodia, and the United Nations in Iraq.
- Participated in large-scale procurement projects on behalf of the United Nations and New Zealand Ministry of Defence.
- Managed multi-million-dollar commercial real-estate portfolio including sales and purchase, quantitative analysis, leasing and contract management.
- 10 years as an Army Engineer Officer, specialising in project management, strategy development and in-depth planning.
Toby heads the Project and Rail Finance Private Debt Distribution EMEA team and is based in London. His team of 11 covers both syndicate and sales for Infrastructure, Power & Renewables, Resources & Industry, Rail plus sales of Digital Infrastructure Assets.
He began his career with Crédit Agricole CIB London in 2005 in Loan Syndications, initially focusing on Infrastructure Finance distribution and subsequently extended to include Structured Commodity finance distribution. In 2010, Toby’s remit also covered distribution for Rail Finance and Toby worked subsequently on the genesis of the EUR PP market. In 2015-2022, he was appointed Head of Infrastructure, Digital Infrastructure and Rail Finance – EMEA Syndicate and Private Debt Distribution and in 2022, he was appointed Head of Telecom Finance Syndicate within CLF Distribution.
Prior to joining the Bank, Toby worked for WestLB in London, specialising in Infrastructure finance sales.
Toby holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge and a MEng (Hons) from the University of Oxford.
Catherine Pihan-Le Bars is the Deputy CEO, Operations at LE TRAIN, a pioneering company creating a new open-access operator and revolutionizing inter-regional high-speed rail services in France. Catherine oversees operations, strategic development and financing, ensuring the successful execution of this ambitious project, along with key strategic partnerships.
Before joining LE TRAIN, Catherine led major transformation projects in the urban planning and health sectors, including large-scale digital initiatives. Her experience in these areas has prepared her to manage the complex challenges involved in delivering innovative infrastructure solutions. Catherine is particularly focused on how LE TRAIN can contribute to the evolution of mobility in France, with a strong emphasis on operational agility, sustainability and customer experience.
Nuno Ribeiro is a Partner at VTM Global, a European consultancy focused on transport and infrastructure planning, mobility, and transaction advisory. VTM operates from its Lisbon, Madrid and Milan offices.
Nuno brings 30+ years advising sponsors, investors, public authorities, and lenders on new investments, transactions, operations and disputes across airports, toll roads, car parks, light and heavy rail, metros, BRT, urban public transport, ports, and logistics.
His work spans Europe, the Americas, and Africa, with a strong track record in demand and revenue studies that underpin bankable decisions in complex mobility systems. In the past decade he has recently been involved in some of the most relevant mobility infrastructure M&A operations in Europe and is currently advising on 3 of the largest greenfield transport infrastructure projects in the US.
Educated in Civil Engineering at IST, with an MSc in Transport from Imperial College London and complemented with executive training in Harvard and Cambridge, he blends deep technical rigor with executive-level impact.
Nuno is known for translating complex starting points, datasets and systems into actionable strategies for investors, developers, operators and policymakers — aimed at building resilient, high-performance, and sustainable transport outcomes.