Eurostar to buy seven extra Siemens e320 trains

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Eurostar, the company that runs passenger trains through the Channel tunnel between London and Paris, said it would buy seven additional e320 trains from Siemens for about 300 million pounds ($473 million).

The company placed an order for 10 new trains in 2010, the first of which was unveiled in London on Thursday, and is due to enter commercial service next year, enabling the company to add new routes.

Buying the seven new trains would add about 300 million pounds to the 700 million pound bill for buying 10 trains and refurbishing the existing fleet, Eurostar said.

The company is 55 percent owned by the French state rail operator SNCF, 40 percent by the British government and 5 percent by Belgium. (1 US dollar = 0.6340 British pound) (Reporting by Sarah Young)