this is a very misleading headline, it makes the ' handover' sound like a gift !
Then further into the article we learn about leasing, which should be in the headline .
I look forward to hearing what the leasing arrangement is too.

Maggie Millington, Brittany, France

I've only travelled once by Eurostar from London to Paris, and I swore never to take the plane again between the two. I got to my destionation (close to the station, I have to admit) twice as fast, with less hassle. The way it looks, the rail system is doomed in UK, which is a pity for everybody (and to add insult to injury, in its own birthplace).

Serban, oradea,

The trains will be used in France, with low fares and a willing public. Here it would cost seven or eight times the fares in France so no one could afford the tickets.

Jane, Whittlesey, UK

I would like to know where the government figures for demand come from? I live in Manchester and used to live in Paris, and would welcome the chance to by-pass London when I visit my friends in Paris. Is it not just a simple case of the British Government underinvesting in the North of England again? After all, the Government stammered and stuttered about the Metro-link in Manchester, claiming that the costs were rising. Had it been London or any other city in the South of England, I am positive that the money would have been found. This link to the continent for "us poor folk in the north" might encourage other Europeans to visit Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, the Lake district and Scotland and realise that Britain is far more than London. In order to accumulate, one has to speculate, something the Government should think about before leasing off trains to another country which were built for us.

Ian varey, Manchester, UK

For a period after the tunnel opened some of these trains ran a daily service from Birmingham to Waterloo, and a very useful train it was. However, they ran unadvertised (not even on the public timetable) and unpromoted so it's not surprising there was not much demand for them. I travel regularly on Eurostar and given the number of people who come down from the Midlands and the North I'm sure two trains a day could be filled easily.

Peter Reynolds, Birmingham,

I think leasing the trains to France makes good economic sense - why leave them in storage if they can't be used for their original purpose?

What is more scandalous is that yet again we are unable to provide a good fast regional rail infrastructure that links us to the Continent. It all rather smacks of Fortress Britain.

Given how unpleasant and time-consuming the whole flying experience has become, I for one, would welcome the opportunity to be able to get onto a train at any major city in Britain and travel directly to a European one ... unlike our esteemed government, I suspect there is a demand ...

BertyBrit, London,

I am based in Paris, and had regular work in the midlands over a couple of years, it would have been a blessing to avoid paying the congestion TAX and then avoid the congestion getting in & out of London to the M40.
Flying for me was less flexible more hassle and I could not work for a reasonable period as I could on the train.

Somebodyi n the UK goverment forgot that business planning includes market surveys.

tim , paris, france

If a rail operator wanted to attract custom, on say a Manchester to Paris route, they would need to charge a fare low enough to compete with the airlines.
I suggest such a fare would be lower than that currently charged on the Manchester to London route, and the rail operators don't want the embarrassment.

jasper, chelmsford,

I would happily pay 80 pounds return or so for a return ticket from Doncaster to Paris. They just cancelled the service (which was always full) from Donny airport in favour of a route to the middle east. Now to get to Paris I have to go to east midlands, and flying is polluting my conscience as well as the planet. Or maybe I should just dump my French boyfriend..?

Let's start an online petition to get this route up and running!!

laura, doncaster,