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National Express is involved in a bid to launch a rival to the Eurostar that hopes to ferry passengers from London to Paris as soon as 2025.

Companies including the owner of National Express coaches, which is now known as Mobico, have held talks about a potential rival train service that would run through the Channel Tunnel.

The plan to take on the Eurostar comes as the travel industry bets on an increase in usage of rail.

Travelling in Europe by train is seen as a good way to decarbonise short-distance travel as much of the grid that powers the network is wind or nuclear-based.

Companies on the continent are experimenting with more sleeper trains to connect up farflung cities in a challenge to short-haul air travel.

Industry sources said companies have also been emboldened by recent moves to liberalise the train network in Europe, making it easier for challengers to bid for new services.

The high-speed rail network in Europe is now open access, meaning companies who are not operating routes can bid for space on the tracks, following new EU rules in 2016.

Any successful operator will still need access to timetable slots, stations, rolling stock, depots, maintenance and staff, a combination of agreements that will take time to build up.

Talks to launch a rival service, which were first reported by the Financial Times, are understood to be at an early stage.

Mobico and Eurostar both declined to comment.