Eurostar is a
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
way service connecting
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. All its trains traverse the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
between
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, owned and operated separately by
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
.
The London terminal is
St Pancras InternationalSt Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, with calling points at
Ebbsfleet InternationalEbbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 miles outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. Ebbsfleet International...
and
Ashford InternationalAshford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent, England. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island built when the Channel Tunnel opened...
in
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Calling points in France are
Calais-FréthunCalais-Fréthun is a mainline and international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France, one of three stations serving the town. the other two are Calais-Ville in the town centre and Gare des Fontinettes in the suburbs....
and
Lille-EuropeLille-Europe is a railway station station in Lille, France. This station is primarily used for high-speed Eurostar and TGV services although some regional trains also call at the station....
, with the main Paris terminus at
Gare du NordParis Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...
. Trains to Belgium terminate at Midi/Zuid station in Brussels. In addition, there are limited services from London to Disneyland Paris at Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy, and to seasonal destinations in southern France.
The service is operated by eighteen-coach
Class 373/1 trainsThe British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel...
which run at up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) on a network of high-speed lines. The
LGV NordThe LGV Nord is a French 333-kilometre long high speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille....
line in France opened before Eurostar services began in 1994, and newer lines enabling faster journeys were added later—
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
in Belgium and High Speed 1 in southern England. The French and Belgian parts of the network are shared with Paris–Brussels
ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
services and also with
TGVThe TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
trains. In the United Kingdom the two-stage Channel Tunnel Rail Link project was completed on 14 November 2007 and renamed High Speed 1, when the London terminus of Eurostar transferred from
Waterloo InternationalWaterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening on 14 November 1994 until 13 November 2007. It stands on the western side of Waterloo railway station, London...
to St Pancras International.
Eurostar was until 2009 operated jointly by the national railway companies of France and Belgium,
SNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
and SNCB, and Eurostar (UK) Ltd (EUKL), a subsidiary of
London and Continental Railways-History:Created at the time of the privatisation of British Rail it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel...
(LCR), which also owns the high-speed infrastructure and stations on the British side. Eurostar has become the dominant operator in cross-channel intercity passenger travel on the routes that it operates, carrying more passengers than all
airlineAn airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s combined. Other operators have expressed an interest in purchasing EUKL, or starting competing services following deregulation in 2010. On 1 January 2010, Eurostar was incorporated as a single corporate entity called
Eurostar International, replacing the joint operation between EUKL, SNCF and SNCB.
Conception and planning
The history of Eurostar can be traced to the 1986 choice of a rail tunnel to provide a cross-channel link between Britain and France.
A previous attempt at constructing a tunnel between the two nations had begun in 1974, but was quickly aborted. In 1988 construction began on a new basis.
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
was created to manage and own the tunnel, which was finished in 1993, the official opening taking place in May 1994.
In addition to the tunnel's
shuttle trainsEurotunnel Le Shuttle is a shuttle service between Calais/Coquelles in France and Folkestone in Britain. It conveys road vehicles by rail through the Channel Tunnel...
carrying cars and lorries between
FolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
and
CalaisCalais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, the decision to build a railway tunnel opened up the possibility of through passenger and freight train services between places further afield.
British RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and SNCF contracted with Eurotunnel to use half the tunnel's capacity for this purpose. In 1987 Britain, France and Belgium set up an International Project Group to specify a train to provide an international high-speed passenger service through the tunnel. France had been operating high-speed TGV services since 1981, and had begun construction of a new high-speed line between Paris and the Channel Tunnel, LGV Nord; French TGV technology was chosen as the basis for the new trains. An order for 30 trainsets, to be manufactured in France but with some British and Belgian components, was placed in December 1989.
On 20 June 1993, the first Eurostar test train travelled through the tunnel to the UK. Various technical difficulties in running the new trains on British tracks were quickly overcome.
Launch of service
On 14 November 1994 Eurostar services began between Waterloo International station in London, Gare du Nord in Paris and Brussels-South railway station in Brussels.
In 1995 Eurostar was achieving an average end-to-end speed of 171.5 km/h (106.6 mph) between London and Paris.
On 8 January 1996 Eurostar launched services from a second railway station in the UK when Ashford International was opened. Journey times between London and Brussels were reduced by the opening of HSL 1 on 14 December 1997.
On 23 September 2003 passenger services began running on the first completed section of High Speed 1. Following a high-profile glamorous opening ceremony
and a large advertising campaign,
on 14 November 2007 Eurostar services in London transferred from Waterloo to the brand new St Pancras International.
Records achieved
The Channel Tunnel used by Eurostar services holds the record for having the longest undersea section anywhere in the world, as well as being the second longest rail tunnel in the world.
A Eurostar train set a new British
speed record-Vehicle speed records:* Flight airspeed record* Transcontinental air speed record* Land speed record* Land speed record for railed vehicles* Fastest production car* Motorcycle land speed record* Fastest speed on a bicycle* British land speed record...
of 334.7 km/h (208 mph) on the first section of High Speed 1 on 30 July 2003, two months before services began running upon the first section of High Speed 1.
On 16 May 2006 Eurostar set a new record for the longest non-stop high-speed journey, a distance of 1421 kilometres (883 mi) from London to
CannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
taking 7 hours 25 minutes.
On 4 September 2007 a record-breaking train left Paris Gare du Nord at 10:44 (09:44
BSTWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
) and reached London St Pancras in 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds; carrying journalists and railway workers. The train was the first passenger-carrying arrival at St Pancras International station.
On 20 September 2007, Eurostar broke another record when it completed the journey from Brussels to London in 1 hour, 43 minutes.
Regional Eurostar and Nightstar
The original proposals for Eurostar included direct services to Paris and Brussels from cities north of London (NoL):
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
via
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on the
West Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
and
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
via
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
,
NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
on the
East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
.
Seven shorter NoL Eurostar trains for these
Regional EurostarRegional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services were built, but these services never ran. Predicted journey times of almost nine hours for Glasgow to Paris at the time of growth of
low-cost air travelA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
during the 1990s made the plans commercially unviable against the cheaper and quicker airlines. Other reasons that have been suggested for these services having never been run were both government policies and the disruptive
privatisation of British RailThe privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
.
Three of the Regional Eurostar units were leased by
Great North Eastern RailwayGreat North Eastern Railway was a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. It operated high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line from 1996 until 9 December 2007 when the franchise was taken over by National Express East Coast.GNER's primary service routes...
(GNER) to increase domestic services from London King's Cross to York and later
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. The leases ended in December 2005, and most of the NoL sets have since been transferred to SNCF for TGV services in northern France.
An international
NightstarThe Nightstar was a proposed overnight sleeper service from various parts of Britain to continental Europe, via the Channel Tunnel. To run alongside the Eurostar and north of London day time Regional Eurostar services, the Nightstar was the last part in a round the clock passenger train...
sleeper train was also planned; this would have travelled the same routes as Regional Eurostar, plus the
Great Western Main LineThe Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
to
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
These were also deemed commercially unviable, and the scheme was abandoned with no services ever operated. In 2000 the coaches were sold to
Via RailVia Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
in Canada.
Ashford International station
Ashford International station was the original station for Eurostar services in Kent.
Once Ebbsfleet International railway station, also designed to serve the Kent region, had opened, only three trains a day to Paris and one to Disneyland Paris called at Ashford for a considerable amount of time. There were fears that services at Ashford International might be further reduced or withdrawn altogether as Eurostar planned to make Ebbsfleet the new regional hub instead.
However, after a period during which no Brussels trains served the station, to the dissatisfaction of the local communities, on 23 February 2009 Eurostar re-introduced a single daily Ashford-Brussels service.
Some critics have remained sceptical, as very few ticket distributors sell tickets either coming from or going to Ashford International.
LGV Nord
LGV Nord is a French 333 kilometres (206.9 mi)-long
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
line that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via
LilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. It opened in 1993.
Its extensions to Belgium and towards Paris, as well as connecting to the Channel Tunnel, have made LGV Nord a part of every Eurostar journey undertaken. A Belgian high-speed line, HSL 1, was added to the end of LGV Nord, at the Belgian border, in 1997. Of all French high-speed lines, LGV Nord sees the widest variety of high-speed rolling stock and is quite busy; a proposed cutoff bypassing Lille, which would reduce Eurostar journey times to Paris, is called LGV Picardie.
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a crucial part of the route as it is the only rail connection between Great Britain and the European mainland. It joins LGV Nord in France with High Speed One in Britain. Tunnelling began in 1988, and the 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) tunnel was officially opened by British
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and French President
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
in a ceremony in Calais on 6 May 1994.
It is owned by
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
, which charges a significant toll to Eurostar for its use.
In 1996 the
American Society of Civil EngineersThe American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
identified the tunnel as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Along the current route of the Eurostar service, line speeds are 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) except within the Channel Tunnel, where a reduced speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) applies for safety reasons.
Since the launch of Eurostar services, severe disruptions and cancellations have been caused by fires breaking out within the Channel Tunnel, such as the 1996 Channel Tunnel fire,
the relatively minor 2006 Channel Tunnel fire,
and the
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
.
HSL 1
Journey times between London and Brussels were improved when an 88 kilometres (54.7 mi) Belgian high-speed line,
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
, opened on 14 December 1997.
It links in with LGV Nord on the border with France, allowing Eurostar trains heading to Brussels to make the transition between the two without having to reduce speed. A further four-minute improvement for London-Brussels trains was achieved in December 2006 with the opening of the 435 metres (1,427.2 ft) Brussels South Viaduct.
Linking the international platforms of Brussels-South railway station with the high-speed line, the viaduct separates Eurostar (and Thalys) from local services.
High Speed 1
High Speed 1 (HS1), formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 108 kilometres (67.1 mi) high-speed railway line running from London through
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.
It was built in two stages. The first section between the tunnel and
Fawkham JunctionFawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.Originally the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West . The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West...
in north Kent opened in September 2003, cutting London–Paris journey times by 21 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, and London-Brussels to 2 hours 20 minutes. On 14 November 2007, commercial services began over the whole of the new HS1 line. The redeveloped St Pancras International station became the new London terminus for all Eurostar services.
The completion of High Speed 1 has brought the British part of Eurostar's route up to the same standards as the French and Belgian high-speed lines. Non-stop journey times have been reduced by a further 20 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes for London-Paris and 1 hour 51 minutes for London-Brussels.
Frequency
Eurostar offers seventeen weekday London–Paris services (twenty on Fridays) including six non-stop (eight on Fridays), and eleven London–Brussels services including three running non-stop.
In addition, there is one daily round-trip London–
Disneyland ParisDisneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....
and two seasonal services: from July to September a weekly London–Ashford–
AvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
service,
and in the winter twice-weekly "snow trains", aimed at skiers, to
Bourg-Saint-MauriceBourg-Saint-Maurice, popularly known as Bourg, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.-History:...
,
Aime-la-PlagneLa Plagne is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise . Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area...
and
MoutiersMoutiers and Les Moutiers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Moutiers, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Moutiers, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département*Moutiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département...
in the
AlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
; one runs overnight and the other is a daytime round-trip.
Intermediate stations are Ebbsfleet International in northwest Kent, Ashford International in southeast Kent, and
Calais-FréthunCalais-Fréthun is a mainline and international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France, one of three stations serving the town. the other two are Calais-Ville in the town centre and Gare des Fontinettes in the suburbs....
and Lille-Europe in northern France.
Since 14 November 2007, all Eurostar trains have been routed via High Speed 1 to or from the redeveloped London terminus at St Pancras International, which at a cost of £800 million was extensively rebuilt and extended to cope with 394 metres (430.9 yd) long Eurostar trains.
It had originally been intended to retain some Eurostar services at
Waterloo InternationalWaterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
terminal, but this was ruled out on cost grounds.
Completion of High Speed 1 has increased the potential number of trains serving London. Separation of Eurostar from British domestic services through Kent meant that timetabling was no longer affected by peak-hour restrictions.
Fares
Eurostar's fares were significantly higher in its early years; the cheapest fare in 1994 was £99 return.
In 2002, Eurostar was planning cheaper fares, an example of which was an offer of £50 day returns from London to Paris or Brussels.
By March 2003, the cheapest fare from the UK was £59 return, available all year around. In June 2009 it was announced that one-way single fares would be available at £31 at the cheapest. Competition between Eurostar and airline services was a large factor in ticket prices being reduced from the initial levels.
Business Premier fares also slightly undercut air fares on similar routes, targeted at regular business travellers.
In 2009, Eurostar greatly increased its budget ticket availability to help maintain and grow its dominant market share.
The Eurostar ticketing system is very complex, being distributed through no fewer than 48 individual sales systems.
Eurostar is a member of the
Amadeus CRSAmadeus is a computer reservations system owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. The development center is located at Sophia Antipolis, France...
distribution system, making its tickets available alongside those of airlines worldwide.
First classFirst class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...
on Eurostar is called Business Premier; benefits include guaranteed faster checking-in and meals served at-seat, as well as the improved furnishings and interior of Business Premier carriages.
The rebranding is part of Eurostar's marketing drive to attract more business professionals. Increasingly, business people in a group have been chartering private carriages as opposed to individual seats on the train.
Service connections
Without the operation of
Regional EurostarRegional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services using the North of London trainsets across the rest of Britain, Eurostar has developed its connections with other transport services instead, such as integrating effectively with traditional UK rail operators' schedules and routes, making it possible for passengers to easily use Eurostar as a quick connection to further destinations on the continent.
All three main terminals used by the Eurostar service – St Pancras International, Paris Gare du Nord, and Brussels Midi/Zuid – are heavily served by domestic trains and by local urban transport networks such as the
London UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and the
Paris MetroThe Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
. Standard Eurostar tickets no longer include free onward connections to or from any other station in Belgium: this is now available for a flat-rate supplement, currently £5.50.
Eurostar has announced several partnerships with other rail services,
most notably
ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
connections at Lille and Brussels for passengers to go beyond current Eurostar routes towards the Netherlands and Germany.
In 2002, Eurostar initiated the Eurostar-Plus program, offering connecting tickets for onward journeys from Lille and Paris to dozens of destinations in France.
Through fares are also available from 68 British towns and cities to destinations in France and Belgium.
In May 2009 Eurostar announced that a formal connection to Switzerland had been established in a partnership between Eurostar and Lyria, which operates TGVs from Paris to Switzerland.
Controls and security
Because the UK is not part of the
Schengen AreaThe Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
, and because France and Belgium are not part of the
Common Travel AreaThe Common Travel Area is a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only...
, all Eurostar passengers must submit to border controls. Both the British Government and the Schengen governments concerned (Belgium and France) have legal obligations to check the travel documents of those entering their respective countries.
There is also a full security check similar to those at airports, scanning both bags and people's pockets. Security checks at Eurostar are comparable to those at a small airport and generally very much quicker than at London Heathrow. The recommended check-in time is 30 minutes except for business class where it is 10 minutes. The reason for having full security check is special UK legislation for the tunnel
Eurostar passengers travelling inside the
Schengen AreaThe Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
(mainly from Brussels to Lille) are also checked by
UK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
within Belgian territory, since there is no way of separating them out from Brussels–London passengers. When the tripartite agreements were signed, the
Belgian GovernmentThe Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
said that it had serious questions about the compatibility of this agreement with the Schengen Convention and the principle of free movement of people enshrined in various European Treaties.
On 30 June 2009 Eurostar raised concerns at the Commons Home Affairs select committee that it was illegal under French law for the collection of information desired by the UK government under the
e-BordersBorder controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
scheme, and they would be unable to cooperate.
On several occasions, people have illegally tried to stow away onboard the train, sometimes in large groups, trying to enter the UK; border monitoring and security is therefore extremely tight.
Eurostar claims to have good and well-funded security measures.
Operational performance
Eurostar's punctuality has fluctuated from year to year, but usually remains over 90%; in the first quarter of 1999, 89% of services operated were on time, and in the second quarter it reached 92%.
Eurostar's best punctuality record was 97.35%, set between 16 and 22 August 2004. In 2006, it was 92.7%, and in 2007, 91.5% were on time. In the first quarter of 2009, 96% of Eurostar services were punctual compared with rival air routes' 76%.
An advantage held by Eurostar is the convenience and speed of the service: with shorter check-in times than at most airports and hence quicker boarding and less queueing and high punctuality, it takes less time to travel between central London and central Paris by high-speed rail than it does by air. Eurostar now has a dominant share of the combined rail–air market on its three-capitals routes. In 2004, it had a 66% share of the London–Paris market, and a 59% share of the London–Brussels market.
In 2007, it achieved record market shares of 71% for London–Paris and 65% for London–Brussels routes.
Eurostar's passenger numbers initially failed to meet predictions. In 1996,
London and Continental Railways-History:Created at the time of the privatisation of British Rail it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel...
forecast numbers would reach 21.4 million annually by 2004,
but only 7.3 million was achieved. 82 million passengers used Waterloo International Station from its opening in 1994 to its closure in 2007. 2008 was a record year for Eurostar with a 10.3% rise in passenger use,
which was attributed to the use of High Speed 1 and the move to St Pancras.
The following year, Eurostar saw an 11.5% fall in passenger numbers
during the first three months of 2009, which was attributed to the
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
and the 2009 recession.
As a result of the poor economic conditions, Eurostar received state aid in May 2009 to cancel out some of the accumulated debt from the High Speed 1 construction programme.
In 2006, the
Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
predicted that, by 2037, annual cross-channel passenger numbers would probably reach 16 million,
considerably less optimistic than London and Continental Railways's original 1996 forecast.
In 2007 Eurostar set a target of carrying 10 million passengers by 2010.
The company cited several factors to support this objective, such as improved journey times, punctuality and station facilities. Passengers in general, it stated, are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental effects of air travel, and Eurostar services emit much less
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
.
and that its remaining carbon emissions are now
offsetA carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
, making its services
carbon neutralCarbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...
.
Continued expansion of the high-speed rail network in Europe, such as the
HSL-ZuidHSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...
line between Belgium and the Netherlands, continues to bring more destinations within rail-competitive range, giving Eurostar the possibility of opening up new services in future.
Eurostar yearly passengers
| 1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
| 3 |
4.9 |
6.0 |
6.3 |
6.6 |
7.1 |
6.95 |
6.60 |
6.31 |
7.27 |
7.45 |
7.85 |
8.26 |
9.1 |
9.2 |
9.5 |
All figures in millions. 1995 data are approximate.
Awards and accolades
Eurostar has been hailed as having set new standards in international rail travel and has won praise several times over, recognising its high standards. Eurostar won the
Train Operator of the YearTrain Operator of the Year is a rail transport industry award to recognize excellence among train operating companies of the United Kingdom. The award has been presented as part of the HSBC Rail Business Awards since 1997....
award in the
HSBCHSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
Rail Awards for 2005.
Eurostar was declared the Best Train Company in the joint
GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
/
ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Travel Awards 2008.
However, Eurostar had previously struggled with its reputation and brand image. One commentator had defined the situation at the time as:
{{about|the passenger service linking Britain, France and Belgium}}
{{Good article}}
Eurostar is a
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
way service connecting
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. All its trains traverse the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
between
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, owned and operated separately by
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
.
The London terminal is
St Pancras InternationalSt Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, with calling points at
Ebbsfleet InternationalEbbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 miles outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. Ebbsfleet International...
and
Ashford InternationalAshford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent, England. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island built when the Channel Tunnel opened...
in
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Calling points in France are
Calais-FréthunCalais-Fréthun is a mainline and international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France, one of three stations serving the town. the other two are Calais-Ville in the town centre and Gare des Fontinettes in the suburbs....
and
Lille-EuropeLille-Europe is a railway station station in Lille, France. This station is primarily used for high-speed Eurostar and TGV services although some regional trains also call at the station....
, with the main Paris terminus at
Gare du NordParis Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...
. Trains to Belgium terminate at Midi/Zuid station in Brussels. In addition, there are limited services from London to Disneyland Paris at Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy, and to seasonal destinations in southern France.
The service is operated by eighteen-coach
Class 373/1 trainsThe British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel...
which run at up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) on a network of high-speed lines. The
LGV NordThe LGV Nord is a French 333-kilometre long high speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille....
line in France opened before Eurostar services began in 1994, and newer lines enabling faster journeys were added later—
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
in Belgium and High Speed 1 in southern England. The French and Belgian parts of the network are shared with Paris–Brussels
ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
services and also with
TGVThe TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
trains. In the United Kingdom the two-stage Channel Tunnel Rail Link project was completed on 14 November 2007 and renamed High Speed 1, when the London terminus of Eurostar transferred from
Waterloo InternationalWaterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening on 14 November 1994 until 13 November 2007. It stands on the western side of Waterloo railway station, London...
to St Pancras International.
Eurostar was until 2009 operated jointly by the national railway companies of France and Belgium,
SNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
and SNCB, and Eurostar (UK) Ltd (EUKL), a subsidiary of
London and Continental Railways-History:Created at the time of the privatisation of British Rail it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel...
(LCR), which also owns the high-speed infrastructure and stations on the British side. Eurostar has become the dominant operator in cross-channel intercity passenger travel on the routes that it operates, carrying more passengers than all
airlineAn airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s combined. Other operators have expressed an interest in purchasing EUKL, or starting competing services following deregulation in 2010. On 1 January 2010, Eurostar was incorporated as a single corporate entity called
Eurostar International, replacing the joint operation between EUKL, SNCF and SNCB.
Conception and planning
{{main |Channel Tunnel |Eurotunnel |TransManche Link}}
The history of Eurostar can be traced to the 1986 choice of a rail tunnel to provide a cross-channel link between Britain and France.
A previous attempt at constructing a tunnel between the two nations had begun in 1974, but was quickly aborted. In 1988 construction began on a new basis.
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
was created to manage and own the tunnel, which was finished in 1993, the official opening taking place in May 1994.
In addition to the tunnel's
shuttle trainsEurotunnel Le Shuttle is a shuttle service between Calais/Coquelles in France and Folkestone in Britain. It conveys road vehicles by rail through the Channel Tunnel...
carrying cars and lorries between
FolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
and
CalaisCalais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, the decision to build a railway tunnel opened up the possibility of through passenger and freight train services between places further afield.
British RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and SNCF contracted with Eurotunnel to use half the tunnel's capacity for this purpose. In 1987 Britain, France and Belgium set up an International Project Group to specify a train to provide an international high-speed passenger service through the tunnel. France had been operating high-speed TGV services since 1981, and had begun construction of a new high-speed line between Paris and the Channel Tunnel, LGV Nord; French TGV technology was chosen as the basis for the new trains. An order for 30 trainsets, to be manufactured in France but with some British and Belgian components, was placed in December 1989.
On 20 June 1993, the first Eurostar test train travelled through the tunnel to the UK. Various technical difficulties in running the new trains on British tracks were quickly overcome.
Launch of service
On 14 November 1994 Eurostar services began between Waterloo International station in London, Gare du Nord in Paris and Brussels-South railway station in Brussels.
In 1995 Eurostar was achieving an average end-to-end speed of 171.5 km/h (106.6 mph) between London and Paris.
On 8 January 1996 Eurostar launched services from a second railway station in the UK when Ashford International was opened. Journey times between London and Brussels were reduced by the opening of HSL 1 on 14 December 1997.
On 23 September 2003 passenger services began running on the first completed section of High Speed 1. Following a high-profile glamorous opening ceremony
and a large advertising campaign,
on 14 November 2007 Eurostar services in London transferred from Waterloo to the brand new St Pancras International.
Records achieved
The Channel Tunnel used by Eurostar services holds the record for having the longest undersea section anywhere in the world, as well as being the second longest rail tunnel in the world.
A Eurostar train set a new British
speed record-Vehicle speed records:* Flight airspeed record* Transcontinental air speed record* Land speed record* Land speed record for railed vehicles* Fastest production car* Motorcycle land speed record* Fastest speed on a bicycle* British land speed record...
of 334.7 km/h (208 mph) on the first section of High Speed 1 on 30 July 2003, two months before services began running upon the first section of High Speed 1.
On 16 May 2006 Eurostar set a new record for the longest non-stop high-speed journey, a distance of 1421 kilometres (883 mi) from London to
CannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
taking 7 hours 25 minutes.
On 4 September 2007 a record-breaking train left Paris Gare du Nord at 10:44 (09:44
BSTWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
) and reached London St Pancras in 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds; carrying journalists and railway workers. The train was the first passenger-carrying arrival at St Pancras International station.
On 20 September 2007, Eurostar broke another record when it completed the journey from Brussels to London in 1 hour, 43 minutes.
Regional Eurostar and Nightstar
{{See|Regional Eurostar |Nightstar (train)}}
The original proposals for Eurostar included direct services to Paris and Brussels from cities north of London (NoL):
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
via
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on the
West Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
and
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
via
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
,
NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
on the
East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
.
Seven shorter NoL Eurostar trains for these
Regional EurostarRegional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services were built, but these services never ran. Predicted journey times of almost nine hours for Glasgow to Paris at the time of growth of
low-cost air travelA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
during the 1990s made the plans commercially unviable against the cheaper and quicker airlines. Other reasons that have been suggested for these services having never been run were both government policies and the disruptive
privatisation of British RailThe privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
.
Three of the Regional Eurostar units were leased by
Great North Eastern RailwayGreat North Eastern Railway was a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. It operated high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line from 1996 until 9 December 2007 when the franchise was taken over by National Express East Coast.GNER's primary service routes...
(GNER) to increase domestic services from London King's Cross to York and later
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. The leases ended in December 2005, and most of the NoL sets have since been transferred to SNCF for TGV services in northern France.
An international
NightstarThe Nightstar was a proposed overnight sleeper service from various parts of Britain to continental Europe, via the Channel Tunnel. To run alongside the Eurostar and north of London day time Regional Eurostar services, the Nightstar was the last part in a round the clock passenger train...
sleeper train was also planned; this would have travelled the same routes as Regional Eurostar, plus the
Great Western Main LineThe Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
to
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
These were also deemed commercially unviable, and the scheme was abandoned with no services ever operated. In 2000 the coaches were sold to
Via RailVia Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
in Canada.
Ashford International station
{{main |Ashford International railway station}}
Ashford International station was the original station for Eurostar services in Kent.
Once Ebbsfleet International railway station, also designed to serve the Kent region, had opened, only three trains a day to Paris and one to Disneyland Paris called at Ashford for a considerable amount of time. There were fears that services at Ashford International might be further reduced or withdrawn altogether as Eurostar planned to make Ebbsfleet the new regional hub instead.
However, after a period during which no Brussels trains served the station, to the dissatisfaction of the local communities, on 23 February 2009 Eurostar re-introduced a single daily Ashford-Brussels service.
Some critics have remained sceptical, as very few ticket distributors sell tickets either coming from or going to Ashford International.
LGV Nord
{{Eurostar}}
{{main |LGV Nord}}
LGV Nord is a French 333 kilometres (206.9 mi)-long
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
line that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via
LilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. It opened in 1993.
Its extensions to Belgium and towards Paris, as well as connecting to the Channel Tunnel, have made LGV Nord a part of every Eurostar journey undertaken. A Belgian high-speed line, HSL 1, was added to the end of LGV Nord, at the Belgian border, in 1997. Of all French high-speed lines, LGV Nord sees the widest variety of high-speed rolling stock and is quite busy; a proposed cutoff bypassing Lille, which would reduce Eurostar journey times to Paris, is called LGV Picardie.
Channel Tunnel
{{main |Channel Tunnel}}
The Channel Tunnel is a crucial part of the route as it is the only rail connection between Great Britain and the European mainland. It joins LGV Nord in France with High Speed One in Britain. Tunnelling began in 1988, and the 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) tunnel was officially opened by British
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and French President
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
in a ceremony in Calais on 6 May 1994.
It is owned by
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
, which charges a significant toll to Eurostar for its use.
In 1996 the
American Society of Civil EngineersThe American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
identified the tunnel as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Along the current route of the Eurostar service, line speeds are 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) except within the Channel Tunnel, where a reduced speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) applies for safety reasons.
Since the launch of Eurostar services, severe disruptions and cancellations have been caused by fires breaking out within the Channel Tunnel, such as the 1996 Channel Tunnel fire,
the relatively minor 2006 Channel Tunnel fire,
and the
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
.
HSL 1
{{main |HSL 1}}
Journey times between London and Brussels were improved when an 88 kilometres (54.7 mi) Belgian high-speed line,
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
, opened on 14 December 1997.
It links in with LGV Nord on the border with France, allowing Eurostar trains heading to Brussels to make the transition between the two without having to reduce speed. A further four-minute improvement for London-Brussels trains was achieved in December 2006 with the opening of the 435 metres (1,427.2 ft) Brussels South Viaduct.
Linking the international platforms of Brussels-South railway station with the high-speed line, the viaduct separates Eurostar (and Thalys) from local services.
High Speed 1
{{main |High Speed 1}}
High Speed 1 (HS1), formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 108 kilometres (67.1 mi) high-speed railway line running from London through
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.
It was built in two stages. The first section between the tunnel and
Fawkham JunctionFawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.Originally the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West . The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West...
in north Kent opened in September 2003, cutting London–Paris journey times by 21 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, and London-Brussels to 2 hours 20 minutes. On 14 November 2007, commercial services began over the whole of the new HS1 line. The redeveloped St Pancras International station became the new London terminus for all Eurostar services.
The completion of High Speed 1 has brought the British part of Eurostar's route up to the same standards as the French and Belgian high-speed lines. Non-stop journey times have been reduced by a further 20 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes for London-Paris and 1 hour 51 minutes for London-Brussels.
Frequency
Eurostar offers seventeen weekday London–Paris services (twenty on Fridays) including six non-stop (eight on Fridays), and eleven London–Brussels services including three running non-stop.
In addition, there is one daily round-trip London–
Disneyland ParisDisneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....
and two seasonal services: from July to September a weekly London–Ashford–
AvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
service,
and in the winter twice-weekly "snow trains", aimed at skiers, to
Bourg-Saint-MauriceBourg-Saint-Maurice, popularly known as Bourg, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.-History:...
,
Aime-la-PlagneLa Plagne is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise . Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area...
and
MoutiersMoutiers and Les Moutiers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Moutiers, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Moutiers, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département*Moutiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département...
in the
AlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
; one runs overnight and the other is a daytime round-trip.
Intermediate stations are Ebbsfleet International in northwest Kent, Ashford International in southeast Kent, and
Calais-FréthunCalais-Fréthun is a mainline and international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France, one of three stations serving the town. the other two are Calais-Ville in the town centre and Gare des Fontinettes in the suburbs....
and Lille-Europe in northern France.
Since 14 November 2007, all Eurostar trains have been routed via High Speed 1 to or from the redeveloped London terminus at St Pancras International, which at a cost of £800 million was extensively rebuilt and extended to cope with 394 metres (430.9 yd) long Eurostar trains.
It had originally been intended to retain some Eurostar services at
Waterloo InternationalWaterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
terminal, but this was ruled out on cost grounds.
Completion of High Speed 1 has increased the potential number of trains serving London. Separation of Eurostar from British domestic services through Kent meant that timetabling was no longer affected by peak-hour restrictions.
Fares
Eurostar's fares were significantly higher in its early years; the cheapest fare in 1994 was £99 return.
In 2002, Eurostar was planning cheaper fares, an example of which was an offer of £50 day returns from London to Paris or Brussels.
By March 2003, the cheapest fare from the UK was £59 return, available all year around. In June 2009 it was announced that one-way single fares would be available at £31 at the cheapest. Competition between Eurostar and airline services was a large factor in ticket prices being reduced from the initial levels.
Business Premier fares also slightly undercut air fares on similar routes, targeted at regular business travellers.
In 2009, Eurostar greatly increased its budget ticket availability to help maintain and grow its dominant market share.
The Eurostar ticketing system is very complex, being distributed through no fewer than 48 individual sales systems.
Eurostar is a member of the
Amadeus CRSAmadeus is a computer reservations system owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. The development center is located at Sophia Antipolis, France...
distribution system, making its tickets available alongside those of airlines worldwide.
First classFirst class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...
on Eurostar is called Business Premier; benefits include guaranteed faster checking-in and meals served at-seat, as well as the improved furnishings and interior of Business Premier carriages.
The rebranding is part of Eurostar's marketing drive to attract more business professionals. Increasingly, business people in a group have been chartering private carriages as opposed to individual seats on the train.
Service connections
Without the operation of
Regional EurostarRegional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services using the North of London trainsets across the rest of Britain, Eurostar has developed its connections with other transport services instead, such as integrating effectively with traditional UK rail operators' schedules and routes, making it possible for passengers to easily use Eurostar as a quick connection to further destinations on the continent.
All three main terminals used by the Eurostar service – St Pancras International, Paris Gare du Nord, and Brussels Midi/Zuid – are heavily served by domestic trains and by local urban transport networks such as the
London UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and the
Paris MetroThe Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
. Standard Eurostar tickets no longer include free onward connections to or from any other station in Belgium: this is now available for a flat-rate supplement, currently £5.50.
Eurostar has announced several partnerships with other rail services,
most notably
ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
connections at Lille and Brussels for passengers to go beyond current Eurostar routes towards the Netherlands and Germany.
In 2002, Eurostar initiated the Eurostar-Plus program, offering connecting tickets for onward journeys from Lille and Paris to dozens of destinations in France.
Through fares are also available from 68 British towns and cities to destinations in France and Belgium.
In May 2009 Eurostar announced that a formal connection to Switzerland had been established in a partnership between Eurostar and Lyria, which operates TGVs from Paris to Switzerland.
Controls and security
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = Uk paris entry.jpg
| width1 = 150
| alt1 = A United Kingdom passport stamp for Paris
| caption1 =
| image2 = France london entry.jpg
| width2 = 150
| alt2 = French Schengen passport stamp for London
| caption2 = Entering the UK in Paris (left) and France in London by using the Eurostar.
}}
Because the UK is not part of the
Schengen AreaThe Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
, and because France and Belgium are not part of the
Common Travel AreaThe Common Travel Area is a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only...
, all Eurostar passengers must submit to border controls. Both the British Government and the Schengen governments concerned (Belgium and France) have legal obligations to check the travel documents of those entering their respective countries.
There is also a full security check similar to those at airports, scanning both bags and people's pockets. Security checks at Eurostar are comparable to those at a small airport and generally very much quicker than at London Heathrow. The recommended check-in time is 30 minutes except for business class where it is 10 minutes. The reason for having full security check is special UK legislation for the tunnel
Eurostar passengers travelling inside the
Schengen AreaThe Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
(mainly from Brussels to Lille) are also checked by
UK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
within Belgian territory, since there is no way of separating them out from Brussels–London passengers. When the tripartite agreements were signed, the
Belgian GovernmentThe Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
said that it had serious questions about the compatibility of this agreement with the Schengen Convention and the principle of free movement of people enshrined in various European Treaties.
On 30 June 2009 Eurostar raised concerns at the Commons Home Affairs select committee that it was illegal under French law for the collection of information desired by the UK government under the
e-BordersBorder controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
scheme, and they would be unable to cooperate.
On several occasions, people have illegally tried to stow away onboard the train, sometimes in large groups, trying to enter the UK; border monitoring and security is therefore extremely tight.
Eurostar claims to have good and well-funded security measures.
Operational performance
Eurostar's punctuality has fluctuated from year to year, but usually remains over 90%; in the first quarter of 1999, 89% of services operated were on time, and in the second quarter it reached 92%.
Eurostar's best punctuality record was 97.35%, set between 16 and 22 August 2004. In 2006, it was 92.7%, and in 2007, 91.5% were on time. In the first quarter of 2009, 96% of Eurostar services were punctual compared with rival air routes' 76%.
An advantage held by Eurostar is the convenience and speed of the service: with shorter check-in times than at most airports and hence quicker boarding and less queueing and high punctuality, it takes less time to travel between central London and central Paris by high-speed rail than it does by air. Eurostar now has a dominant share of the combined rail–air market on its three-capitals routes. In 2004, it had a 66% share of the London–Paris market, and a 59% share of the London–Brussels market.
In 2007, it achieved record market shares of 71% for London–Paris and 65% for London–Brussels routes.
Eurostar's passenger numbers initially failed to meet predictions. In 1996,
London and Continental Railways-History:Created at the time of the privatisation of British Rail it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel...
forecast numbers would reach 21.4 million annually by 2004,
but only 7.3 million was achieved. 82 million passengers used Waterloo International Station from its opening in 1994 to its closure in 2007. 2008 was a record year for Eurostar with a 10.3% rise in passenger use,
which was attributed to the use of High Speed 1 and the move to St Pancras.
The following year, Eurostar saw an 11.5% fall in passenger numbers
during the first three months of 2009, which was attributed to the
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
and the 2009 recession.
As a result of the poor economic conditions, Eurostar received state aid in May 2009 to cancel out some of the accumulated debt from the High Speed 1 construction programme.
In 2006, the
Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
predicted that, by 2037, annual cross-channel passenger numbers would probably reach 16 million,
considerably less optimistic than London and Continental Railways's original 1996 forecast.
In 2007 Eurostar set a target of carrying 10 million passengers by 2010.
The company cited several factors to support this objective, such as improved journey times, punctuality and station facilities. Passengers in general, it stated, are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental effects of air travel, and Eurostar services emit much less
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
.
and that its remaining carbon emissions are now
offsetA carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
, making its services
carbon neutralCarbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...
.
Continued expansion of the high-speed rail network in Europe, such as the
HSL-ZuidHSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...
line between Belgium and the Netherlands, continues to bring more destinations within rail-competitive range, giving Eurostar the possibility of opening up new services in future.
Eurostar yearly passengers
| 1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
| 3 |
4.9 |
6.0 |
6.3 |
6.6 |
7.1 |
6.95 |
6.60 |
6.31 |
7.27 |
7.45 |
7.85 |
8.26 |
9.1 |
9.2 |
9.5 |
All figures in millions. 1995 data are approximate.
Awards and accolades
Eurostar has been hailed as having set new standards in international rail travel and has won praise several times over, recognising its high standards. Eurostar won the
Train Operator of the YearTrain Operator of the Year is a rail transport industry award to recognize excellence among train operating companies of the United Kingdom. The award has been presented as part of the HSBC Rail Business Awards since 1997....
award in the
HSBCHSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
Rail Awards for 2005.
Eurostar was declared the Best Train Company in the joint
GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
/
ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Travel Awards 2008.
However, Eurostar had previously struggled with its reputation and brand image. One commentator had defined the situation at the time as:
{{about|the passenger service linking Britain, France and Belgium}}
{{Good article}}
Eurostar is a
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
way service connecting
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. All its trains traverse the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
between
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, owned and operated separately by
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
.
The London terminal is
St Pancras InternationalSt Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, with calling points at
Ebbsfleet InternationalEbbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 miles outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. Ebbsfleet International...
and
Ashford InternationalAshford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent, England. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island built when the Channel Tunnel opened...
in
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Calling points in France are
Calais-FréthunCalais-Fréthun is a mainline and international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France, one of three stations serving the town. the other two are Calais-Ville in the town centre and Gare des Fontinettes in the suburbs....
and
Lille-EuropeLille-Europe is a railway station station in Lille, France. This station is primarily used for high-speed Eurostar and TGV services although some regional trains also call at the station....
, with the main Paris terminus at
Gare du NordParis Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...
. Trains to Belgium terminate at Midi/Zuid station in Brussels. In addition, there are limited services from London to Disneyland Paris at Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy, and to seasonal destinations in southern France.
The service is operated by eighteen-coach
Class 373/1 trainsThe British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel...
which run at up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) on a network of high-speed lines. The
LGV NordThe LGV Nord is a French 333-kilometre long high speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille....
line in France opened before Eurostar services began in 1994, and newer lines enabling faster journeys were added later—
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
in Belgium and High Speed 1 in southern England. The French and Belgian parts of the network are shared with Paris–Brussels
ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
services and also with
TGVThe TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
trains. In the United Kingdom the two-stage Channel Tunnel Rail Link project was completed on 14 November 2007 and renamed High Speed 1, when the London terminus of Eurostar transferred from
Waterloo InternationalWaterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening on 14 November 1994 until 13 November 2007. It stands on the western side of Waterloo railway station, London...
to St Pancras International.
Eurostar was until 2009 operated jointly by the national railway companies of France and Belgium,
SNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
and SNCB, and Eurostar (UK) Ltd (EUKL), a subsidiary of
London and Continental Railways-History:Created at the time of the privatisation of British Rail it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel...
(LCR), which also owns the high-speed infrastructure and stations on the British side. Eurostar has become the dominant operator in cross-channel intercity passenger travel on the routes that it operates, carrying more passengers than all
airlineAn airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s combined. Other operators have expressed an interest in purchasing EUKL, or starting competing services following deregulation in 2010. On 1 January 2010, Eurostar was incorporated as a single corporate entity called
Eurostar International, replacing the joint operation between EUKL, SNCF and SNCB.
Conception and planning
{{main |Channel Tunnel |Eurotunnel |TransManche Link}}
The history of Eurostar can be traced to the 1986 choice of a rail tunnel to provide a cross-channel link between Britain and France.
A previous attempt at constructing a tunnel between the two nations had begun in 1974, but was quickly aborted. In 1988 construction began on a new basis.
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
was created to manage and own the tunnel, which was finished in 1993, the official opening taking place in May 1994.
In addition to the tunnel's
shuttle trainsEurotunnel Le Shuttle is a shuttle service between Calais/Coquelles in France and Folkestone in Britain. It conveys road vehicles by rail through the Channel Tunnel...
carrying cars and lorries between
FolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
and
CalaisCalais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, the decision to build a railway tunnel opened up the possibility of through passenger and freight train services between places further afield.
British RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and SNCF contracted with Eurotunnel to use half the tunnel's capacity for this purpose. In 1987 Britain, France and Belgium set up an International Project Group to specify a train to provide an international high-speed passenger service through the tunnel. France had been operating high-speed TGV services since 1981, and had begun construction of a new high-speed line between Paris and the Channel Tunnel, LGV Nord; French TGV technology was chosen as the basis for the new trains. An order for 30 trainsets, to be manufactured in France but with some British and Belgian components, was placed in December 1989.
On 20 June 1993, the first Eurostar test train travelled through the tunnel to the UK. Various technical difficulties in running the new trains on British tracks were quickly overcome.
Launch of service
On 14 November 1994 Eurostar services began between Waterloo International station in London, Gare du Nord in Paris and Brussels-South railway station in Brussels.
In 1995 Eurostar was achieving an average end-to-end speed of 171.5 km/h (106.6 mph) between London and Paris.
On 8 January 1996 Eurostar launched services from a second railway station in the UK when Ashford International was opened. Journey times between London and Brussels were reduced by the opening of HSL 1 on 14 December 1997.
On 23 September 2003 passenger services began running on the first completed section of High Speed 1. Following a high-profile glamorous opening ceremony
and a large advertising campaign,
on 14 November 2007 Eurostar services in London transferred from Waterloo to the brand new St Pancras International.
Records achieved
The Channel Tunnel used by Eurostar services holds the record for having the longest undersea section anywhere in the world, as well as being the second longest rail tunnel in the world.
A Eurostar train set a new British
speed record-Vehicle speed records:* Flight airspeed record* Transcontinental air speed record* Land speed record* Land speed record for railed vehicles* Fastest production car* Motorcycle land speed record* Fastest speed on a bicycle* British land speed record...
of 334.7 km/h (208 mph) on the first section of High Speed 1 on 30 July 2003, two months before services began running upon the first section of High Speed 1.
On 16 May 2006 Eurostar set a new record for the longest non-stop high-speed journey, a distance of 1421 kilometres (883 mi) from London to
CannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
taking 7 hours 25 minutes.
On 4 September 2007 a record-breaking train left Paris Gare du Nord at 10:44 (09:44
BSTWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
) and reached London St Pancras in 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds; carrying journalists and railway workers. The train was the first passenger-carrying arrival at St Pancras International station.
On 20 September 2007, Eurostar broke another record when it completed the journey from Brussels to London in 1 hour, 43 minutes.
Regional Eurostar and Nightstar
{{See|Regional Eurostar |Nightstar (train)}}
The original proposals for Eurostar included direct services to Paris and Brussels from cities north of London (NoL):
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
via
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on the
West Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
and
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
via
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
,
NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
on the
East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
.
Seven shorter NoL Eurostar trains for these
Regional EurostarRegional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services were built, but these services never ran. Predicted journey times of almost nine hours for Glasgow to Paris at the time of growth of
low-cost air travelA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
during the 1990s made the plans commercially unviable against the cheaper and quicker airlines. Other reasons that have been suggested for these services having never been run were both government policies and the disruptive
privatisation of British RailThe privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
.
Three of the Regional Eurostar units were leased by
Great North Eastern RailwayGreat North Eastern Railway was a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. It operated high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line from 1996 until 9 December 2007 when the franchise was taken over by National Express East Coast.GNER's primary service routes...
(GNER) to increase domestic services from London King's Cross to York and later
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. The leases ended in December 2005, and most of the NoL sets have since been transferred to SNCF for TGV services in northern France.
An international
NightstarThe Nightstar was a proposed overnight sleeper service from various parts of Britain to continental Europe, via the Channel Tunnel. To run alongside the Eurostar and north of London day time Regional Eurostar services, the Nightstar was the last part in a round the clock passenger train...
sleeper train was also planned; this would have travelled the same routes as Regional Eurostar, plus the
Great Western Main LineThe Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
to
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
These were also deemed commercially unviable, and the scheme was abandoned with no services ever operated. In 2000 the coaches were sold to
Via RailVia Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
in Canada.
Ashford International station
{{main |Ashford International railway station}}
Ashford International station was the original station for Eurostar services in Kent.
Once Ebbsfleet International railway station, also designed to serve the Kent region, had opened, only three trains a day to Paris and one to Disneyland Paris called at Ashford for a considerable amount of time. There were fears that services at Ashford International might be further reduced or withdrawn altogether as Eurostar planned to make Ebbsfleet the new regional hub instead.
However, after a period during which no Brussels trains served the station, to the dissatisfaction of the local communities, on 23 February 2009 Eurostar re-introduced a single daily Ashford-Brussels service.
Some critics have remained sceptical, as very few ticket distributors sell tickets either coming from or going to Ashford International.
LGV Nord
{{Eurostar}}
{{main |LGV Nord}}
LGV Nord is a French 333 kilometres (206.9 mi)-long
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
line that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via
LilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. It opened in 1993.
Its extensions to Belgium and towards Paris, as well as connecting to the Channel Tunnel, have made LGV Nord a part of every Eurostar journey undertaken. A Belgian high-speed line, HSL 1, was added to the end of LGV Nord, at the Belgian border, in 1997. Of all French high-speed lines, LGV Nord sees the widest variety of high-speed rolling stock and is quite busy; a proposed cutoff bypassing Lille, which would reduce Eurostar journey times to Paris, is called LGV Picardie.
Channel Tunnel
{{main |Channel Tunnel}}
The Channel Tunnel is a crucial part of the route as it is the only rail connection between Great Britain and the European mainland. It joins LGV Nord in France with High Speed One in Britain. Tunnelling began in 1988, and the 50.5 kilometres (31.4 mi) tunnel was officially opened by British
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and French President
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
in a ceremony in Calais on 6 May 1994.
It is owned by
EurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
, which charges a significant toll to Eurostar for its use.
In 1996 the
American Society of Civil EngineersThe American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
identified the tunnel as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Along the current route of the Eurostar service, line speeds are 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) except within the Channel Tunnel, where a reduced speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) applies for safety reasons.
Since the launch of Eurostar services, severe disruptions and cancellations have been caused by fires breaking out within the Channel Tunnel, such as the 1996 Channel Tunnel fire,
the relatively minor 2006 Channel Tunnel fire,
and the
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
.
HSL 1
{{main |HSL 1}}
Journey times between London and Brussels were improved when an 88 kilometres (54.7 mi) Belgian high-speed line,
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
, opened on 14 December 1997.
It links in with LGV Nord on the border with France, allowing Eurostar trains heading to Brussels to make the transition between the two without having to reduce speed. A further four-minute improvement for London-Brussels trains was achieved in December 2006 with the opening of the 435 metres (1,427.2 ft) Brussels South Viaduct.
Linking the international platforms of Brussels-South railway station with the high-speed line, the viaduct separates Eurostar (and Thalys) from local services.
High Speed 1
{{main |High Speed 1}}
High Speed 1 (HS1), formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 108 kilometres (67.1 mi) high-speed railway line running from London through
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.
It was built in two stages. The first section between the tunnel and
Fawkham JunctionFawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.Originally the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West . The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West...
in north Kent opened in September 2003, cutting London–Paris journey times by 21 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, and London-Brussels to 2 hours 20 minutes. On 14 November 2007, commercial services began over the whole of the new HS1 line. The redeveloped St Pancras International station became the new London terminus for all Eurostar services.
The completion of High Speed 1 has brought the British part of Eurostar's route up to the same standards as the French and Belgian high-speed lines. Non-stop journey times have been reduced by a further 20 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes for London-Paris and 1 hour 51 minutes for London-Brussels.
Frequency
Eurostar offers seventeen weekday London–Paris services (twenty on Fridays) including six non-stop (eight on Fridays), and eleven London–Brussels services including three running non-stop.
In addition, there is one daily round-trip London–
Disneyland ParisDisneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....
and two seasonal services: from July to September a weekly London–Ashford–
AvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
service,
and in the winter twice-weekly "snow trains", aimed at skiers, to
Bourg-Saint-MauriceBourg-Saint-Maurice, popularly known as Bourg, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.-History:...
,
Aime-la-PlagneLa Plagne is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise . Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area...
and
MoutiersMoutiers and Les Moutiers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Moutiers, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Moutiers, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département*Moutiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département...
in the
AlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
; one runs overnight and the other is a daytime round-trip.
Intermediate stations are Ebbsfleet International in northwest Kent, Ashford International in southeast Kent, and
Calais-FréthunCalais-Fréthun is a mainline and international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France, one of three stations serving the town. the other two are Calais-Ville in the town centre and Gare des Fontinettes in the suburbs....
and Lille-Europe in northern France.
Since 14 November 2007, all Eurostar trains have been routed via High Speed 1 to or from the redeveloped London terminus at St Pancras International, which at a cost of £800 million was extensively rebuilt and extended to cope with 394 metres (430.9 yd) long Eurostar trains.
It had originally been intended to retain some Eurostar services at
Waterloo InternationalWaterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
terminal, but this was ruled out on cost grounds.
Completion of High Speed 1 has increased the potential number of trains serving London. Separation of Eurostar from British domestic services through Kent meant that timetabling was no longer affected by peak-hour restrictions.
Fares
Eurostar's fares were significantly higher in its early years; the cheapest fare in 1994 was £99 return.
In 2002, Eurostar was planning cheaper fares, an example of which was an offer of £50 day returns from London to Paris or Brussels.
By March 2003, the cheapest fare from the UK was £59 return, available all year around. In June 2009 it was announced that one-way single fares would be available at £31 at the cheapest. Competition between Eurostar and airline services was a large factor in ticket prices being reduced from the initial levels.
Business Premier fares also slightly undercut air fares on similar routes, targeted at regular business travellers.
In 2009, Eurostar greatly increased its budget ticket availability to help maintain and grow its dominant market share.
The Eurostar ticketing system is very complex, being distributed through no fewer than 48 individual sales systems.
Eurostar is a member of the
Amadeus CRSAmadeus is a computer reservations system owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. The development center is located at Sophia Antipolis, France...
distribution system, making its tickets available alongside those of airlines worldwide.
First classFirst class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...
on Eurostar is called Business Premier; benefits include guaranteed faster checking-in and meals served at-seat, as well as the improved furnishings and interior of Business Premier carriages.
The rebranding is part of Eurostar's marketing drive to attract more business professionals. Increasingly, business people in a group have been chartering private carriages as opposed to individual seats on the train.
Service connections
Without the operation of
Regional EurostarRegional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services using the North of London trainsets across the rest of Britain, Eurostar has developed its connections with other transport services instead, such as integrating effectively with traditional UK rail operators' schedules and routes, making it possible for passengers to easily use Eurostar as a quick connection to further destinations on the continent.
All three main terminals used by the Eurostar service – St Pancras International, Paris Gare du Nord, and Brussels Midi/Zuid – are heavily served by domestic trains and by local urban transport networks such as the
London UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and the
Paris MetroThe Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
. Standard Eurostar tickets no longer include free onward connections to or from any other station in Belgium: this is now available for a flat-rate supplement, currently £5.50.
Eurostar has announced several partnerships with other rail services,
most notably
ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
connections at Lille and Brussels for passengers to go beyond current Eurostar routes towards the Netherlands and Germany.
In 2002, Eurostar initiated the Eurostar-Plus program, offering connecting tickets for onward journeys from Lille and Paris to dozens of destinations in France.
Through fares are also available from 68 British towns and cities to destinations in France and Belgium.
In May 2009 Eurostar announced that a formal connection to Switzerland had been established in a partnership between Eurostar and Lyria, which operates TGVs from Paris to Switzerland.
Controls and security
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = Uk paris entry.jpg
| width1 = 150
| alt1 = A United Kingdom passport stamp for Paris
| caption1 =
| image2 = France london entry.jpg
| width2 = 150
| alt2 = French Schengen passport stamp for London
| caption2 = Entering the UK in Paris (left) and France in London by using the Eurostar.
}}
Because the UK is not part of the
Schengen AreaThe Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
, and because France and Belgium are not part of the
Common Travel AreaThe Common Travel Area is a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only...
, all Eurostar passengers must submit to border controls. Both the British Government and the Schengen governments concerned (Belgium and France) have legal obligations to check the travel documents of those entering their respective countries.
There is also a full security check similar to those at airports, scanning both bags and people's pockets. Security checks at Eurostar are comparable to those at a small airport and generally very much quicker than at London Heathrow. The recommended check-in time is 30 minutes except for business class where it is 10 minutes. The reason for having full security check is special UK legislation for the tunnel
Eurostar passengers travelling inside the
Schengen AreaThe Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
(mainly from Brussels to Lille) are also checked by
UK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
within Belgian territory, since there is no way of separating them out from Brussels–London passengers. When the tripartite agreements were signed, the
Belgian GovernmentThe Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
said that it had serious questions about the compatibility of this agreement with the Schengen Convention and the principle of free movement of people enshrined in various European Treaties.
On 30 June 2009 Eurostar raised concerns at the Commons Home Affairs select committee that it was illegal under French law for the collection of information desired by the UK government under the
e-BordersBorder controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
scheme, and they would be unable to cooperate.
On several occasions, people have illegally tried to stow away onboard the train, sometimes in large groups, trying to enter the UK; border monitoring and security is therefore extremely tight.
Eurostar claims to have good and well-funded security measures.
Operational performance
Eurostar's punctuality has fluctuated from year to year, but usually remains over 90%; in the first quarter of 1999, 89% of services operated were on time, and in the second quarter it reached 92%.
Eurostar's best punctuality record was 97.35%, set between 16 and 22 August 2004. In 2006, it was 92.7%, and in 2007, 91.5% were on time. In the first quarter of 2009, 96% of Eurostar services were punctual compared with rival air routes' 76%.
An advantage held by Eurostar is the convenience and speed of the service: with shorter check-in times than at most airports and hence quicker boarding and less queueing and high punctuality, it takes less time to travel between central London and central Paris by high-speed rail than it does by air. Eurostar now has a dominant share of the combined rail–air market on its three-capitals routes. In 2004, it had a 66% share of the London–Paris market, and a 59% share of the London–Brussels market.
In 2007, it achieved record market shares of 71% for London–Paris and 65% for London–Brussels routes.
Eurostar's passenger numbers initially failed to meet predictions. In 1996,
London and Continental Railways-History:Created at the time of the privatisation of British Rail it bid for and won the contract from the UK government in 1996 to build and operate High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel...
forecast numbers would reach 21.4 million annually by 2004,
but only 7.3 million was achieved. 82 million passengers used Waterloo International Station from its opening in 1994 to its closure in 2007. 2008 was a record year for Eurostar with a 10.3% rise in passenger use,
which was attributed to the use of High Speed 1 and the move to St Pancras.
The following year, Eurostar saw an 11.5% fall in passenger numbers
during the first three months of 2009, which was attributed to the
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
and the 2009 recession.
As a result of the poor economic conditions, Eurostar received state aid in May 2009 to cancel out some of the accumulated debt from the High Speed 1 construction programme.
In 2006, the
Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
predicted that, by 2037, annual cross-channel passenger numbers would probably reach 16 million,
considerably less optimistic than London and Continental Railways's original 1996 forecast.
In 2007 Eurostar set a target of carrying 10 million passengers by 2010.
The company cited several factors to support this objective, such as improved journey times, punctuality and station facilities. Passengers in general, it stated, are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental effects of air travel, and Eurostar services emit much less
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
.
and that its remaining carbon emissions are now
offsetA carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
, making its services
carbon neutralCarbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...
.
Continued expansion of the high-speed rail network in Europe, such as the
HSL-ZuidHSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...
line between Belgium and the Netherlands, continues to bring more destinations within rail-competitive range, giving Eurostar the possibility of opening up new services in future.
Eurostar yearly passengers
| 1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
| 3 |
4.9 |
6.0 |
6.3 |
6.6 |
7.1 |
6.95 |
6.60 |
6.31 |
7.27 |
7.45 |
7.85 |
8.26 |
9.1 |
9.2 |
9.5 |
All figures in millions. 1995 data are approximate.
Awards and accolades
Eurostar has been hailed as having set new standards in international rail travel and has won praise several times over, recognising its high standards. Eurostar won the
Train Operator of the YearTrain Operator of the Year is a rail transport industry award to recognize excellence among train operating companies of the United Kingdom. The award has been presented as part of the HSBC Rail Business Awards since 1997....
award in the
HSBCHSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
Rail Awards for 2005.
Eurostar was declared the Best Train Company in the joint
GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
/
ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Travel Awards 2008.
However, Eurostar had previously struggled with its reputation and brand image. One commentator had defined the situation at the time as:
{{quote |In June 2003, Eurostar was battling to recover from the worst period in its 10-year history. Negative media coverage combined with poor sales and the general public's low opinion of the British rail industry, created a major challenge... Eurostar was finding it difficult to pick itself up from one of the worst periods in its decade-long history. The period post 9/11 had sent the business into a downturn. Passenger numbers were drying up due to worries over international travel. Several management changes had led to a pause in strategy.
Eurostars on over-speed can reach 210 mph.
By 2008, Eurostar's environmental credentials had become highly developed and promoted.
In 2006 Eurostar's Environment Group was set up, with the aim of making changes in the Eurostar services' daily running to decrease the environmental impact, the organisation setting itself a target of reducing carbon emissions per passenger journey by 25% by 2012.
Drivers are trained in techniques to achieve maximum energy efficiency, and lighting has been minimised; the provider of the bulk of the energy for the Channel Tunnel has been switched to nuclear power stations in France.
Eurostar's current target is to reduce emissions by 35 percent per passenger journey by 2012, putting itself beyond the efforts of other railway companies in this field and thereby winning the 2007
Network RailNetwork Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
Efficiency Award.
In the grand opening ceremony of St Pancras International, one of the Eurostar trains was given the name 'Tread Lightly', said to symbolise their smaller impact on the environment compared to planes.
Organisation
{{See|Eurostar International Limited}}
Since 2010, Eurostar is owned by Eurostar International Limited, a company jointly owned by London & Continental Railways, SNCF and SNCB.
Railteam
Eurostar is a member of
RailteamRailteam is an alliance of seven European high-speed rail operators. The aim of the group is to offer integrated high-speed rail travel between major European cities and to compete with airlines on punctuality, environment, pricing and speed. Coordinated departures are intended to give consistent...
, a marketing alliance formed in July 2007 of seven European
high-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
operators, including Thalys.
The alliance plans to allow tickets to be booked from one end of Europe to the other on a single website. In June 2009 London and Continental Railways, and the Eurostar UK operations they held ownership of, became fully nationalised by the UK government.
Current fleet
{{main |British Rail Class 373}}
Built between 1992 and 1996, Eurostar's fleet consists of 38 electric multiple-unit trains, designated Class 373 in the United Kingdom and TGV373000 in France. There are two variants:
- 31 "Three Capitals" sets consisting of two power car
A power car is a railroad vehicle that is closely related to the locomotive. What differentiates the two is their construction or their use. A true locomotive can be physically separated from its train and does nothing but provide propulsion . A power car, on the other hand, is frequently an...
s and eighteen passenger carriages. These trains are 394 metres (1,292.7 ft) long and can carry 750 passengers: 206 in first class, 544 in standard class.
- 7 shorter "North of London" sets which have fourteen passenger carriages and are 320 metres (1,049.9 ft) long. These sets have a capacity of 558 seats: 114 first class, 444 standard and which were designed to operate the aborted Regional Eurostar
Regional Eurostar was the name given to plans to operate Eurostar train services from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London...
services.
The trains are essentially modified
TGVThe TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
sets, and can operate at up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) on high-speed lines, and 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) in the Channel Tunnel. It is possible to exceed the 300-kilometre-per-hour speed limit, but only with special permission from the safety authorities in the respective country.
Speed limits in the Channel Tunnel are dictated by air-resistance, energy (heat) dissipation and the need to fit in with other, slower trains. The trains were designed with Channel Tunnel safety in mind, and consist of two independent "half-sets" each with its own power car. In the event of a serious fire on board while travelling through the tunnel, passengers would be transferred into the undamaged half of the train, which would then be detached and driven out of the tunnel to safety.
If the undamaged part were the rear half of the train, this would be driven by the Chef du Train, who is a fully authorised driver and occupies the rear driving cab while the train travels through the tunnel for this purpose.
As 27 of the 31 Three Capitals sets are sufficient to operate the service, four are currently used by SNCF for domestic TGV services; one of these regularly operates a Paris–Lille shuttle. The Eurostar logos have been removed from these sets, but the base colours of white, black, and yellow remain. SNCF's lease of the sets is scheduled to last until 2011, with an option for a further two years.
In addition to its Class 373 units, Eurostar operates a single
Class 08The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
diesel shunter as the pilot at
Temple Mills depotTemple Mills is a northerly part of Stratford, south of Leyton, located within the London borough of Newham in east LondonToday, Temple Mills is surrounded at present by former railway tracks and works belonging to the Great Eastern Railway...
.
| Class |
Image |
Type |
Top speed |
Number |
Routes operated |
Built |
| mph |
km/h |
Class 373 EurostarThe British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel...
|
 |
Electric multiple unitAn electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
|
186 |
300 |
28 |
LondonSt Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
–ParisParis Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...
London–Brussels
London–Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy
London–Avignon CentreThe Gare d'Avignon-Centre is a train station serving the city of Avignon, in Vaucluse, France. It is situated on the Paris–Marseille railway.- The building :...
London–Bourg Saint Maurice |
1992 |
Fleet updates
In 2004–2005 the "Three Capitals" sets still in daily use for international services were refurbished with a new interior designed by
Philippe StarckPhilippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...
.
The original grey-yellow scheme in Standard class and grey-red of First/Premium First were replaced with a grey-brown look in Standard and grey-burnt-orange in First class. Power points were added to seats in First class and coaches 5 and 14 in Standard class. Premium First class was renamed BusinessPremier.
In 2008, Eurostar announced that it would be carrying out a mid-life update of its Class 373 trains to allow the fleet to remain in service beyond 2020.
This process will include the 28 units making up the Eurostar fleet, but not the three Class 373/1 units used by SNCF or the Class 373/2 "North of London" sets.
As part of the update process, the Italian company
PininfarinaPininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
has been contracted to redesign the interiors,
and The Yard Creative was selected to design the new buffet cars.
On 11 May 2009 Eurostar revealed the new look for its first-class compartments.
The first refurbished train is due in service in 2012, and Eurostar plans to have completed the entire process by 2014.
{{clr}}
Past fleet
Eurostar had previously operated a number of locomotives:
| Class |
Image |
Type |
Top speed |
Number |
Built |
Notes |
| mph |
km/h |
Class 37The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan....
|
 |
Diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
|
90 |
145 |
12 |
1965 |
|
>-
|Class 73The British Rail Class 73 is a United Kingdom model of electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from a 750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes...
|
|Electro-diesel locomotiveAn Electro-diesel locomotive is powered either from an electricity supply or by using the onboard diesel engine...
|90
|145
|2
|1965
|Were used primarily to rescue failed trains. Eurostar operated two of these from its North Pole depotNorth Pole depot was the London depot for Eurostar from 1994 until 2007. It was used for maintaining and stabling the fleet of British Rail Class 373 trains...
until 2007, when they were loaned to a pair of educational initiatives having become redundant following the move to Temple Mills.
|-
|Class 92The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France...
|
|Electric locomotiveAn electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
|87
|140
|7
|1993
|Intended to operate the NightstarThe Nightstar was a proposed overnight sleeper service from various parts of Britain to continental Europe, via the Channel Tunnel. To run alongside the Eurostar and north of London day time Regional Eurostar services, the Nightstar was the last part in a round the clock passenger train...
sleeper services. Eurostar owned seven units of this class, which never saw service until they were sold in 2007 to Europorte 2Europorte is a European rail freight company, a subsidiary of Eurotunnel; operating in France and through the Channel Tunnel.The company was formed in 2009 as an entity encompassing the previous operations of Europorte 2 and the France based businesses of Veolia Cargo...
.
Future fleet
In addition to the announced mid-life update of the existing Class 373 fleet, Eurostar in 2009 reportedly entered prequalification bids for eight new trainsets to be purchased. Any new trains would need to meet the same safety rules governing passage through the Channel Tunnel as the existing Class 373 fleet. Any replacement to the Class 373 trains would be decided joinly between the French Transport Ministry and the UK
Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
. Current expectations place 2025 as the earliest forecast date for the existing fleet replacement; it is highly likely that the new trains would be equipped to use the new ERTMS in-cab signalling system, due to be fitted to High Speed 1 around 2040.
In October 2010, it was announced that
SiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
had been nominated as the supplier for new trains to provide an expanded range of services, with the intention that Eurostar would purchase ten
VelaroSiemens Velaro is a family of high-speed EMU trains used in Europe and China. The Velaro is based on Deutsche Bahn's ICE 3 high-speed trains, but is a full Siemens product unlike the ICE 3 which involved other manufacturers....
units. Although they are related to the Class 407 trains purchased by
Deutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, there are differences. The new trains have been designed to meet existing Channel Tunnel safety standards by being sixteen-car 400m trains, to match the length of trains in their existing fleet (DB's Class 407s would operate in pairs of eight-car units to reach the required 400m length). These trains would also permit the installation of additional systems required for train services to other destinations such as
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, although there is some uncertainty over the possibility of protectionist regulation by French authorities which would prevent the use of non-Alstom rolling stock.
The new trains will have a top speed of 320 km/h and be designated Eurostar e320. They are part of a £700m investment in the Eurostar fleet. They will have 900 seats (a 20% increase over the current Eurostar trains) and will include wi-fi and on-demand entertainment.
The nomination of Siemens would see it break into the French high-speed market for the first time, as all French and French subsidiary high-speed operators use TGV derivatives produced by
AlstomAlstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
. Alstom attempted legal action to prevent Eurostar from acquiring German-built trains, claiming that the Siemens sets ordered would breach Channel Tunnel safety rules, but this was thrown out of court. Alstom said, after its High Court defeat, that it would "pursue alternative legal options to uphold its position". On 4 November 2010, the company lodged a complaint with the
European CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
over the tendering process, which then asked the British government for "clarification". Alstom then announced it had started legal action against Eurostar, again in the
High CourtThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in London, with the trial date set for October 2011.
| Class |
Image |
Type |
Top speed |
Number |
Built |
Notes |
| mph |
km/h |
| e320 |
|
Electric multiple unitAn electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
|
199 |
320 |
10 |
2010 |
|
Accidents, incidents and events
A number of technical incidents have affected Eurostar services over the years, but {{As of|2009|alt=up to the present}} there has only been one major accident involving a service operated by Eurostar, a derailment in June 2000. Other incidents in the Channel Tunnel — such as the 1996 and
2008 Channel Tunnel fireThe 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles and their drivers....
s — have affected Eurostar services but were not directly related to Eurostar's operations. However, the breakdowns in the tunnel, which resulted in cessation of service and inconvenience to thousands of passengers, in the run-up to Christmas 2009, proved a public-relations disaster.
Minor incidents
There have been several minor incidents with a few Eurostar services. In October 1994 there were teething problems relating to the start of operations. The first preview train, carrying 400 members of the press and media, was delayed for two hours by technical problems.
On 29 May 2002 a Eurostar train was initially sent down a wrong line — towards London Victoria railway station instead of London Waterloo — causing the service to arrive 25 minutes late. A signalling error that led to the incorrect routeing was stated to have caused "no risk" as a result.
On 11 April 2006, a house collapsed next to a railway line near London which caused Eurostar services to have to terminate and start from Ashford International instead of London Waterloo. Passengers waiting at Waterloo International were initially directed onto local trains towards Ashford leaving from the adjacent
Waterloo East railway stationWaterloo East station, also known as London Waterloo East, is a railway station in central London on the line from through London Bridge to Kent. It is managed by Southeastern and is in Travelcard Zone 1...
, until overcrowding occurred at Ashford.
1996
Approximately 1000 passengers were trapped in darkness for several hours inside two Eurostar trains on the night of 19/20 February 1996. The trains stopped inside the tunnels due to electronic failures caused by snow and ice. Questions were raised at the time about the ability of the train and tunnel electronics to withstand the mix of snow, salt and ice which collect in the tunnels during periods of extreme cold.
2000
On 5 June 2000 a Eurostar train travelling from Paris to London derailed on the
LGV NordThe LGV Nord is a French 333-kilometre long high speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille....
high-speed line while traveling at 290 km/h (180 mph). Fourteen people were treated for light injuries or shock, with no fatalities or major injuries. The articulated nature of the trainset was credited with maintaining stability during the incident and all of the train stayed upright. The incident was caused by a traction link on the second bogie of the front power car coming loose, leading to components of the transmission system on that bogie impacting the track.
2009
On 23 September 2009 an overhead power line dropped onto a Class 373 train arriving at St Pancras station, activating a circuit breaker and delaying eleven other trains. Two days later, on 25 September 2009, electrical power via the overhead lines was lost on a section of high-speed line outside Lille, delaying passengers on two evening Eurostar-operated services.
During the December 2009 European snowfall, four Eurostar trains broke down inside the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, after leaving France, and one in Kent on 18 December. Although the trains had been
winterisedWinterization refers to the process of preparing something for an upcoming winter.The term is most commonly used in respect to aquatic play features, fountains, and the like, which must be drained and sealed up so that water inside does not freeze, causing breakage of the pipes in the fountain, or...
, the systems had not coped with the conditions. Over 2,000 passengers were stuck inside failed trains inside the tunnel, and over 75,000 had their services disrupted. All Eurostar services were cancelled from Saturday 19 December to Monday 21 December 2009. An independent review, published on 12 February 2010, was critical of the contingency plans in place for assisting passengers stranded by the delays, calling them "insufficient".
2010
On 7 January 2010 a Brussels-London train broke down in the Channel Tunnel, resulting in three other trains failing to complete their journeys. The cause of the failure was the onboard signalling system. Due to the severe weather, a limited service was operated in the next few days.
On 15 February 2010, services between Brussels and London were interrupted following the
Halle train collisionThe Halle train collision was a collision between two trains in Buizingen, in the Belgian municipality of Halle, Flemish Brabant, on 15 February 2010. It was Belgium's worst rail disaster in over fifty years....
, this time after the dedicated
HSL 1The HSL 1 is a Belgian high speed rail line which connects Brussels with LGV Nord at the border with France. It is long with 71 km of dedicated high-speed tracks and 17 km of modernised lines. Service began on 14 December 1997....
lines in the suburbs of the Belgian capital were blocked by debris from a serious train crash on the suburban commuter lines alongside. No efforts were made to reroute trains around the blockage; Eurostar instead terminated services to Brussels at Lille, directing passengers to continue their journey on local trains. Brussels services resumed on a limited scale on 22 February. It was subsequently suggested that electrical disturbances caused by HSTs disrupted signalling caused the crash.
On 21 February 2010 the 2143 service from Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras broke down just outside Ashford International stranding 740 passengers for several hours while a rescue train was called in.
On 15 April 2010
air traffic in Western Europe closedIn response to concerns that volcanic ash ejected during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland would damage aircraft engines, the controlled airspace of many European countries was closed to instrument flight rules traffic, resulting in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II...
because of the
eruptionThe 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjöll in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption...
of the
EyjafjallajökullEyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, situated to the north of Skógar and to the west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period, most recently in...
volcano. Many travellers between the UK and the European mainland instead took the Eurostar train, all tickets between Brussels and London on 15 and 16 April being sold out within 3½ hours after the closure of British airspace.
Between 15 and 20 April, Eurostar put on 33 additional trains and carried 165,000 passengers – 50,000 more than had been scheduled to travel during this period.
2011
On 17 October 2011 a man fell from the 17.04 service from London to Brussels as it passed through Cheriton in Folkestone, near the entry to the Channel Tunnel. He is believed to have been an Albanian refused entry to the UK. The line was closed for several hours after the incident. A statement on Eurostar's website read: "Following an earlier incident on the high speed line in the UK, Eurostar services are now running subject to delays."
Future developments
A number of possible future developments affecting the Eurostar service have been brought forward and some planned to go ahead:
Stratford International station
Eurostar trains do not currently call at {{stnlnk|Stratford International}}, originally intended to be the London stop for the regional Eurostars. This is to be reviewed after the 2012 Olympics.
Regional Eurostar
{{main |Regional Eurostar}}
Although the original plan for Regional Eurostar services to destinations north of London was abandoned, the significantly improved journey times available since the opening of High Speed 1 — which is physically connected to both the
East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
and the
North London LineThe North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
(for the
West Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
) at St Pancras — and recently increased maximum speeds on the West Coast Main Line, may make potential Regional Eurostar services more commercially viable. This would be even more likely if proposals are adopted for a new high-speed line from London to the north of Britain.
Simon Montague, Eurostar's Director of Communications, commented that: "...International services to the regions are only likely once High Speed 2 is built."
Key pieces of infrastructure still belong to LCR via its subsidiary London & Continental Stations and Property, such as the
Manchester International DepotManchester International Depot is a train maintenance depot in Manchester, England. It was constructed next to the Longsight depot in the early 1990s as part of a plan to operate Eurostar international train services to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London, known as Regional Eurostar.By...
, and Eurostar (UK) still owns several track access rights and the rights to paths on both the East Coast and West Coast Main Lines.
While no announcement has been made of plans to start Regional Eurostar services, it remains a possibility for the future. In the meantime, the closest equivalent to Regional Eurostar services are same-station connections with
East Midlands TrainsEast Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
, changing at St Pancras. The planned renovation of the adjacent King's Cross will see a new concourse built to improve interchange with St Pancras, giving
East CoastEast Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
,
First Capital ConnectFirst Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
(
Great NorthernThe East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
services), First Hull Trains and
Grand Central services better connections with Eurostar.
High Speed 2
{{main |High Speed 2}}
Eurostar has already been involved in reviewing and publishing reports into High Speed 2 for the British Government and looks favourably upon such an undertaking. The operation of Regional Eurostar services will not be considered until such time as High Speed 2 has been completed. Alternatively, future loans of the North of London sets to other operators would enable the trains to operate at their full speed, unlike GNER's previous loan between 2000 and 2005, where the trains were limited to 175 km/h (108.7 mph) on regular track. A separate company called High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd has been set up to investigate the feasibility and viability of a new line likely serving a similar route to the West Coast Main Line.
LGV Picardie
{{main |LGV Picardie}}
LGV Picardie is a proposed high-speed line between Paris and Calais via
AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
. By cutting off the corner of the LGV Nord at Lille, it would enable Eurostar trains to save 20 minutes on the journey between Paris and Calais, bringing the London-Paris journey time under 2 hours. In 2008 the French Government announced its future investment plans for new LGVs to be built up to 2020; LGV Picardie was not included but was listed as planned in the longer term. It has later been confirmed that LGV Picardie is intended to be built between 2020 and 2030.
New destinations
{{Quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote="We know we can go to most places in France physically, because our trains are compatible with French infrastructure, but then you've got to look at impact on fleet utilisation, you've got to have a station that's got the spare capacity to have a train stood for a number of hours, for all the security, screening, passport control passes. So it's not possible to go just anywhere. And you've got to be able to get the control authorities to agree that there's a big enough market for it to be worthwhile for them to set up there." |source=
Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar.}}
The reduced journey times offered by the opening of High Speed 1 and the opening of the
LGV EstThe LGV Est européenne is an extension to the French high-speed rail network, connecting currently Vaires-sur-Marne and Baudrecourt , and later Vaires-sur-Marne and Vendenheim . , it is the newest high-speed line in France and still under construction, with of a planned in service...
and
HSL-ZuidHSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...
bring more
continentalContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
destinations
within a range from London where rail is competitive with air travel. By Eurostar's estimates a train would then take 3 hours 30 minutes from London to Amsterdam.
At present Eurostar is concentrating on developing its connections with other services, but direct services to other destinations would be possible. However, the routes that any potential services are likely to take would go off the infrastructure that Eurostar's rolling stock has been built to use — German railways mostly have 15kV AC electrification, while the Netherlands uses 1.5kV DC (except on HSL Zuid and the
BetuwerouteThe Betuweroute is a double track freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which it passes, but the line is popularly referred to as Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The Germans have named their part the...
).
To operate on these lines would require new or heavily modified rolling stock designed to operate at these different voltages, in addition to those already in use. Signalling systems also differ. In addition to the infrastructure difficulties, any potential Eurostar services beyond Paris and Brussels would also require the installation of stringent security measures, due to the UK's not having signed up to the
Schengen AgreementThe Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
, which allows unrestricted movement across borders of member countries.
The difficulties that Eurostar faces in expanding its services would also be faced by any potential competitors to Eurostar. As the UK is outside the Schengen Agreement, London-bound trains must use platforms that are physically isolated, a constraint which other international operators such as Thalys do not face. In addition, the British authorities are required to make security and passport checks prior to boarding the train,
which might deter domestic passengers. Compounding the difficulties in providing a similar service are the Channel Tunnel safety rules, the major ones being the "half-train rule" and the "length rule". The "half-train rule" stipulated that passenger trains had to be able to split in the case of emergency. Class 373 trains were designed as two half-sets, which when coupled form a complete train, enabling them to be split easily in the event of an emergency while in the tunnel, with the unaffected set able to be driven out. The half-train rule was finally abolished in May 2010. However, the "length rule", which states that passenger trains must be at least 375m long (to match the distance between the safety doors in the tunnel), was retained, preventing any potential operators from applying to run services with existing fleets (the majority of both TGV and ICE trains are only 200m long).
On 13 October 2009 the President of SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, outlined plans to expand TGV services around Paris as well as for fleet renewal. A plan to connect LGV Nord, the line used by Eurostar into Paris, with
La DefenseLa Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
, a large commercial and business centre in the west of Paris, was described as the "top priority". Pepy estimated that the connection (which would also allow interchange to the proposed
Paris - Rouen - Le Havre LGV lineAn LGV line from Paris to Cherbourg is proposed. It was announced by President Sarkozy in April 2009, with a few further details fleshed out during a visit to Rouen by French Transport minister, Dominique Bussereau. Working groups have been established consisting of leaders of the local governments...
) would allow a journey time from central London to La Defense of 2hrs 15mins. Guillaume Pepy defined SNCF's priorities for the future as:
{{quote |Our dream is to have 12 TGV stations for the 12 million inhabitants of Ile de France. Grand Paris would be linked with the European high speed network, to challenge London or Frankfurt.}}
At the same time as Pepy's announcement, Richard Brown announced that Eurostar's plans for expanding its network potentially included
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and
RotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
as destinations, using the HSL Zuid line. This would require either equipment upgrades of the existing fleet, or a new fleet equipped for both ERTMS and the domestic signalling systems used by
Nederlandse SpoorwegenNederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
. Following the December 2009 opening of HSL Zuid, a London-Amsterdam journey is estimated to take 4hrs 16mins.
Competition
{{See|High Speed 1#Future operations}}
In 2010, international rail travel was liberalised by new
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
directives, designed to break up monopolies in order to encourage competition for services between countries. This sparked interest among other companies in providing services in competition to Eurostar and new services to destinations beyond Paris and Brussels. The only rail carrier to formally propose and secure permission for such a service up to now is
Deutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, which intends to run services between London and Germany and the Netherlands. The sale of High Speed One by the British Government having effectively nationalised LCR in June 2009 is also likely to stimulate competition on the line.
On 22 March 2010, it was announced that Eurotunnel was in discussions with the Intergovernment Commission, which oversees the tunnel, with the aim of amending elements of the safety code governing the tunnel's usage. Most saliently, there is a proposal to remove the requirement that trains be able to split within the tunnel, and each part of the train be driven out to opposite ends. If adopted, this change will lead to smaller trains being able to transit the tunnel. Eurotunnel Chairman & Chief Executive Jacques Gounon said that experience gained from the disruptions of December 2009 had shown that shorter trains are easier to evacuate in an emergency. He added that he hoped the liberalisation of rules would allow entry into the market of competitors such as Deutsche Bahn. Sources at Eurotunnel suggested that Deutsche Bahn could enter the market at the next timetable change, which would be December 2012.
On 28 July 2010 Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced that it intended to make a test run with a high-speed ICE-3MF train through the Channel Tunnel in October 2010 in preparation for possible future operations. The trial ran on 19 October 2010 with a Class 406 ICE train specially liveried with a British "Union flag" decal. The train was then put on display for the press at St Pancras International. However, this is not the class of train that would be used for the proposed service. At the St Pancras ceremony, DB revealed that it planned to operate from London to Frankfurt and Amsterdam (two of the biggest air travel markets in Europe), with trains 'splitting & joining' in Brussels. It hoped to begin these services in 2013 using Class 407 ICE units, with three trains per day each way—morning, midday and afternoon. Initially the only calling points would be Rotterdam on the way to Amsterdam, and Cologne on the way to Frankfurt. Amsterdam and Cologne would be under four hours from London, Frankfurt around five hours.
On 6 August 2010,
TrenitaliaTrenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. Trenitalia is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato, itself owned by the Italian Government. It was created in 2000 following the EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport.-Passenger transport:...
announced its desire to eventually run high-speed trains from Italy to the United Kingdom, using its newly ordered high-speed trains. The trains will be delivered from 2013.
External links
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{{Eurostar navbox}}
{{Lignes à grande vitesse}}
{{Channel tunnel}}
{{Current UK TOCs}}
{{High-speed rail}}
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