Rivals BA, Virgin poised for battle over Eurostar

British Airways is in talks with National Express over a bid to run the Eurostar Channel Tunnel rail service in a move that would pit the airline against arch rival Virgin Atlantic.

A BA spokesman said the company had been approached by the coach, airports and rail group over a possible deal. Any agreement would see BA entering the rail industry for the first time.

Industry experts said the National Express plan would be to use BA's worldwide sales network to sell tickets. It may offer a package where customers would buy flights into London and train journeys to the continent. National Express would manage the London-Paris and London-Brussels routes.

One expert said: "We would probably see BA use its marketing clout to sell the service."

The Financial Times reported that BA was not interested in helping to build the proposed 68-mile high speed Channel tunnel rail link to London, seen as vital to secure the link's future success.

Virgin chairman Richard Branson is putting together a similar plan to take over the link.

National Express and Virgin Group were both invited to make bids to run the Eurostar project after London & Continental Railways, of which they were both shareholders, failed to gather enough money to build the line.

In January, the Government turned down a request from LCR for a £1.2bn subsidy on top of the £1.8bn already agreed.