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58-607: Eurostar International Limited (EIL) is the railway company operating the international Eurostar train services between Paris, London, Amsterdam and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel . Eurostar was previously operated by three separate companies in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, but this structure was replaced by EIL as a new single management company on 1 September 2010. EIL is owned by Eurostar Group . Eurostar International

116-765: A memorandum of understanding to join SkyTeam as its first non-airline partner. This cooperation will enable integrated intermodal transport ( air-rail ) in the UK, France and the Netherlands. Because the UK is not part of the European Union or the Schengen Area , and because the Netherlands, Belgium and France are not part of the Common Travel Area , all cross-channel Eurostar passengers must go through border controls . Both

174-530: A 28-minute stop (which was not deemed long enough to process UK-bound passengers) and then carrying different passengers from Brussels to London. Initially passengers travelling back took a Thalys service to Brussels Midi/Zuid where they could join the Eurostar. This was due to the lack of facilities for juxtaposed controls by the UK Border Force at Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal. On 4 February 2020,

232-575: A Canadian consortium of Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for £2.1bn. EIL then paid access charges to the consortium to operate Eurostar trains on HS1. On 4 December 2013, the UK Government announced it was looking to sell LCR's 40% stake in EIL. In January 2014, in a joint venture with Keolis , Eurostar was shortlisted to bid for the InterCity East Coast franchise, but

290-583: A fixed-rate track access contract with Railtrack lasting until 29 July 2052 as part of the plans for Regional Eurostar services. The privatisation of British Rail saw ownership of EPS transferred in 1996 to London and Continental Railways (LCR), a property development company owned by the Government of the United Kingdom . This was part of the contract agreed with the British Government for LCR to build and operate High Speed 1 (HS1) between London and

348-736: A further 20   minutes. The line's London terminal is London St Pancras International , which was redeveloped for the project. The HSL-Zuid ( Dutch : Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid , English: South high-speed line ), is a 125 km-long (78 mi) Dutch high-speed railway line that connects Amsterdam with the HSL 4 at the Belgium-Netherlands border. It opened on 7 September 2009. Eurostar offers up to 15 weekday London – Paris services (19 on Fridays) including nine non-stop (13 on Fridays). There are also nine (ten on Friday) London–Brussels services, of which two run non-stop (continuing to Amsterdam) and

406-520: A further two call at Lille only. Four services daily operate to Amsterdam via Brussels and Rotterdam, some calling at Lille. There were also seasonal services: in the winter, "Snow trains", aimed at skiers, to Bourg-Saint-Maurice , Aime-la-Plagne and Moûtiers in the Alps ; these ran weekly, arriving in the alps in the evening and leaving the same evening to arrive in London the following morning. This service

464-453: A grand Western European high-speed rail service covering the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, serving up to 30   million customers by 2030. As of 2019, Thalys assisted Eurostar with onward connections between Amsterdam and Brussels, and to provide the Amsterdam to London service, in lieu of passport and customs checks at Amsterdam Centraal station . In September 2020,

522-406: A limited Discovery service; the full daily service started from 28 May 1995. In 1995, Eurostar was achieving an average end-to-end speed of 171.5 km/h (106.6 mph) from London to Paris. On 8 January 1996, Eurostar launched services from a second railway station in the UK when Ashford International was opened. Also in 1996, Eurostar commenced its year-round service to Disneyland with

580-589: A part of the new holding company. EIL is the owner of the British Rail Class 373 and Class 374 sets. Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The service is operated by the Eurostar Group which was formed from the merger of Eurostar, which operated trains through

638-574: A plan to merge the two companies, a project named Green Speed . Both companies already operate in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, with Eurostar also operating in the United Kingdom, and Thalys also operating in Germany, and SNCF already owns a majority stake in both of them. The project aims at reducing costs, and at providing a more seamless experience to passengers, with the use of a single ticketing system and loyalty program . After being delayed by

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696-567: A quick connection to further destinations on the continent. All three main terminals used by the Eurostar service – London St Pancras International, Paris Nord, and Brussels-South – are served by domestic trains and by local urban transport networks such as the London Underground , Paris Metro , Brussels Metro and Amsterdam Metro . Standard Eurostar tickets no longer include free onward connections to or from any other station in Belgium: this

754-430: A single corporate entity, Eurostar International Limited (EIL), replacing the joint operation between EUKL, SNCF and SNCB/NMBS. EIL is ultimately owned by SNCF (55%), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) (30%), Hermes Infrastructure (10%) and SNCB (5%). By January 2021, Eurostar ridership went down to less than 1% of pre-pandemic levels. The combined financial troubles and lack of ridership caused by

812-554: Is a 333-kilometre-long (207 mi) French high-speed rail line that connects Paris with the HSL 1 at the Belgium–France border and the Channel Tunnel. It opened in 1993. Of all French high-speed lines, LGV Nord sees the widest variety of high-speed rolling stock and is quite busy; a proposed cut-off bypassing Lille , which would reduce Eurostar journey times between Paris and London, is called LGV Picardie . The Channel Tunnel

870-512: Is a member of Railteam , a marketing alliance formed in July 2007 of seven European high-speed rail operators. 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. In September 2024, Eurostar signed

928-419: Is now available for a flat-rate supplement, currently £5.50. Eurostar offers a through-ticket to specific destinations by train, that is a single contract for multi leg journeys with certain passenger rights and protections. Eurostar has announced several partnerships with other rail services, most notably Thalys connections at Lille and Brussels for passengers to go beyond current Eurostar routes towards

986-593: 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. Without the operation of Regional Eurostar 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 use Eurostar as

1044-532: Is the largest customer of Getlink , the owner of the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar International was formed in 1990 as European Passenger Services (EPS), as the division of British Rail responsible for the UK section of the Eurostar operation. Following the opening of the Channel Tunnel , Eurostar trains began operating on 14 November 1994, with EPS, NMBS/SNCB and SNCF responsible for the running of Eurostar services in their own territory. On 1 April 1994, EPS signed

1102-565: Is the only rail connection between Great Britain and the European mainland. It joins LGV Nord in France with High Speed 1 in Britain. Tunnelling began in 1988, and the 50.5 km (31.4-mile) tunnel was officially opened by British sovereign, Elizabeth II , and the French President, François Mitterrand , on 6 May 1994. It is owned by Getlink , which charges a toll to Eurostar for its use. Within

1160-511: Is very complex, being distributed through no fewer than 48 individual sales systems. Eurostar is a member of the Amadeus CRS distribution system, making its tickets available alongside those of airlines worldwide. Eurostar has two sub-classes of first class : Standard Premier and Business Premier; benefits include guaranteed faster checking-in and meals served at-seat, as well as the improved furnishings and interior of carriages. The rebranding

1218-455: The COVID-19 pandemic led to Eurostar seeking governmental assistance from Britain's Treasury and Department for Transport , even though Britain sold its 40% Eurostar holding in 2015. Eurostar's appeal included granting the company access to Bank of England -backed loans and a temporary reduction in track access charges for use of the UK's high-speed rail line. Despite being majority-owned by

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1276-523: The COVID-19 pandemic , the project resumed in October 2021. It was announced that both services would be operated under the Eurostar brand, the Thalys brand being dropped, with the existing Eurostar service being renamed Eurostar Blue and the existing Thalys service Eurostar Red . The European Commission approved the planned merger on 29 March 2022. In April 2022, the new holding company, Eurostar Group,

1334-420: The COVID-19 pandemic . Since 14 November 2007, all Eurostar trains have been routed via High Speed   1 to or from the redeveloped London terminus at London St Pancras International, which at a cost of £800   million was extensively rebuilt and extended to cope with 394 m (431-yard) long Eurostar trains. It had been intended to retain some Eurostar services at Waterloo International , but this

1392-427: The Channel Tunnel to the United Kingdom, and Thalys which operated in Western Europe. The operator is exploring future network expansions and aims to double passenger numbers by 2030. The history of the Eurostar brand can be traced to the choice in 1986 of a rail tunnel to provide a cross-channel link between Britain and France. A previous attempt to construct a tunnel between the two nations had begun in 1974, but

1450-449: The German border. 56 km (35 mi) long (42 km (26 mi) dedicated high-speed tracks, 14 km (8.7 mi) modernised lines), it was completed on 15 December 2007, but trains did not start to use it until June 14, 2009. HSL 3 is used by international Eurostar and ICE trains only. The Cologne–Aachen high-speed line is not a newly built railway line, but a project to upgrade the existing railway line which

1508-528: The West Coast Main Line and Leeds and Glasgow Central via Edinburgh Waverley , Newcastle and York on the East Coast Main Line . Seven 14-coach "North of London" Eurostar trains for these Regional Eurostar services were built, but these services never came to fruition. Predicted journey times of almost nine hours for Glasgow to Paris at the time of growth of low-cost air travel during

1566-584: 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 Rail . Three of the Regional Eurostar units were leased by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) to increase domestic services from London King's Cross to York and later Leeds. The lease expired in December 2005, and most of

1624-500: The British Government and the Schengen governments concerned (Belgium, Netherlands and France) have legal obligations to check the travel documents of those entering and leaving their respective countries. To allow passengers to walk off the train without arrival checks in most cases, juxtaposed controls ordinarily take place at the embarkation station. Eurostar Group In September 2019, Eurostar and Thalys shareholders introduced

1682-577: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 108 km-long (67 mi) British high-speed rail line that connects London with the Channel Tunnel. It opened in two stages. The first section between the tunnel and north Kent opened in September 2003, cutting journey times by 21   minutes. On 14 November 2007, commercial services began over the whole of the High Speed 1 reducing journey times by

1740-575: The Channel Tunnel, Eurostar trains operate at a reduced speed of 160 km/h (100 mph) 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 in 1996 and 2008 . HSL 1 connects Brussels with the French border. 88 km (55 mi) long (71 km (44 mi) dedicated high-speed tracks, 17 km (11 mi) modernised lines), it began service on 14 December 1997. The line has appreciably shortened rail journeys,

1798-570: The Channel Tunnel. The company was renamed Eurostar (UK) Limited (EUKL) and was to use the income from EUKL to help finance the HS1 project. Following financial assistance from the UK government in 1998, LCR was forced to appoint a management contract for EUKL. Bids for the contract were submitted by Virgin Rail Group and Inter-Capital and Regional Rail, a consortium of National Express (40%), SNCF (35%), NMBS/SNCB (15%) and British Airways (10%). The latter

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1856-550: The Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management , Cora van Nieuwenhuizen , and the UK Transport Secretary , Grant Shapps , announced that juxtaposed controls would be established at Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal. The direct train from Amsterdam was originally due to launch on 30 April 2020, and from Rotterdam on 18 May 2020, although it was later postponed to 26 October 2020 for both cities due to

1914-506: The French state railway, SNCF , Eurostar was thought to have already exhausted options for governmental assistance from Paris, but both the French transport minister and the UK Department for Transport confirmed they were working on further plans to maintain the service. By the end of 2022, Eurostar had debts of €964m, following French bailouts and commercial loans. Ridership levels returned to around 8 million in 2022, however this figure

1972-541: The Netherlands and Germany. In 2002, Eurostar initiated the Eurostar-Plus program, offering through-tickets for onward journeys from Lille and Paris to dozens of destinations in France. Through-tickets 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 will operate TGV services from Lille to

2030-580: The North of London sets were transferred to SNCF for TGV services in northern France. An international Nightstar sleeper train was also planned; this would have travelled the same routes as Regional Eurostar, plus the Great Western Main Line to Cardiff Central . These were also deemed commercially unviable, and the scheme was abandoned with no services ever operated. In 2000, the coaches were sold to Via Rail in Canada. On 27 September 2019,

2088-508: The Swiss Alps for Eurostar connection. In May 2019, Eurostar ended its agreement with Deutsche Bahn that allowed passengers to travel on a through-ticket by train from the UK via Brussels to Germany and further to Austria and Switzerland. Under the agreement, passengers could travel on a single through-ticket with passenger rights in case of disruption of one train. However, the through-tickets ceased to be sold from 9 November 2019. Eurostar

2146-548: 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. On 14 November 1994, Eurostar services began running from Waterloo International station in London, to Paris Nord , as well as Brussels-South railway station . The train service started with

2204-406: 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 extended and extensively refurbished London St Pancras International . Direct services from London to Amsterdam (returning to Brussels only) were launched on 4 April 2018. This service

2262-617: The first section of the "High Speed 1" railway between the Channel Tunnel, and Fawkham Junction in north Kent, two months before official public services began running. On 16 May 2006, Eurostar set a new record for the longest non-stop high-speed journey, a distance of 1,421 km (883 miles) from London to Cannes taking 7   hours 25   minutes. On 4 September 2007, a record-breaking train left Paris Nord at 10:44 (09:44   BST ) and reached London St Pancras International in 2   hours 3   minutes 39   seconds, carrying journalists and railway workers. This record trip

2320-477: The first train running on 29 June. The following year saw the introduction of services to the French Alps during the winter. On 20 July 2002 a summer seasonal service to Avignon-Centre was launched. The service ran until 2014 after which it was replaced on 1 May 2015 by an expanded service calling at Avignon TGV and also serving Lyon and Marseille . On 23 September 2003, passenger services began running on

2378-686: The franchise was awarded to Virgin Trains East Coast . In June 2014, the UK's 40% shareholding in EIL was transferred from LCR to HM Treasury , and a sale process was launched on 13 October 2014 when it was announced that the UK government planned to raise £300   million by selling its stake. In March 2015, the Treasury announced it had sold the stake to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) (30%) and Hermes Infrastructure (10%) for £585m. It also confirmed agreement to redeem its preference share in EIL for £172m, raising £757m in total. The sale

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2436-490: The heads of two of Eurostar's major shareholders, Guillaume Pepy of SNCF, and the chair of SNCB, Sophie Dutordoir , publicised that Eurostar was planning to come together with its sister company the Franco-Belgian transnational rail service Thalys . The arrangement is to merge their operations under the working title of " Green Speed " and expand services outside the core London-Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam service, to create

2494-620: The journey from Paris to Brussels now taking 1:22. In combination with the LGV Nord , it has also impacted international journeys to France and London . HSL 2 runs between Leuven and Ans . 95 km (59 mi) long (61 km (38 mi) dedicated high-speed tracks, 34 km (21 mi) modernised lines) it began service on 15 December 2002. Combined with HSL 3 to the German border, the combined eastward high speed lines have greatly accelerated journeys between Brussels , Paris and Germany . HSL 3 connects Liège to

2552-476: The merger between Thalys and Eurostar International was confirmed, a year after Thalys announced its intention to merge with the cross-Channel provider subject to gaining European Commission clearance, to form "Green Speed". SNCF and SNCB already hold a controlling shareholding in Eurostar. In October 2021, it was announced that, following the completion of the merger, the Thalys brand would be discontinued, with all of

2610-406: The new operation's services to be operated under the Eurostar name but with each service's own liveries. In October 2023, the Eurostar brand replaced Thalys , operating as one network and combining ticket sales in a single system. Eurostar was originally operated as a collaboration of three separate French, British and Belgian corporate entities. On 1 September 2010, Eurostar was incorporated as

2668-448: The three national Eurostar operators merged into EIL as a single company with a single management structure. Following this change, the ICRR management contract for the UK business was terminated. Once all Eurostar assets were transferred to EIL, the holdings in the company were amended to LCR (40%), NMBS/SNCB (5%) and SNCF (55%). In November 2010, LCR sold a 30-year concession to operate HS1 to

2726-408: 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

2784-410: Was also the first passenger-carrying arrival at the new London 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. The original proposals for Eurostar included direct services to Paris and Brussels from cities north of London: Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham New Street on

2842-650: 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

2900-451: Was awarded the contract which was to run from 1998 until 2010. In January 2009, after the completion of HS1, the UK's Department for Transport took control of LCR and announced its intention to put both HS1 and EUKL up for sale. Deutsche Bahn expressed an interest in EUKL but no sale materialised. On 31 December 2009, EUKL was renamed Eurostar International Limited (EIL). On 1 September 2010,

2958-626: Was completed in May 2015. In 2020, Eurostar shareholders unanimously appointed Jacques Damas as chief executive officer, following news that previous CEO Mike Cooper would join Arriva as Group CEO, and facing the challenges of exiting the COVID-19 crisis and leading it towards future developments. In April 2022, Eurostar International's ownership was transferred into a new holding company named Eurostar Group , along with THI Factory . The previous shareholders now own

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3016-474: Was confirmed as withdrawn in August 2023, and its future is unknown. In February 2018, Eurostar announced the start of its long-planned service from London to Amsterdam, with an initial two trains per day from April of that year running between London St Pancras International and Amsterdam Centraal . This launched as a one-way service, with return trains carrying passengers to Rotterdam and Brussels Midi/Zuid, making

3074-484: Was established in Belgium. It is owned by the previous shareholders of Eurostar and Thalys, with SNCF retaining its majority stake. The European Passengers’ Federation believes that the merger will give the new company a monopoly position of the market they serve, and lead to higher ticket prices for passengers. In January 2024, Eurostar Group announced that its passenger numbers in 2023 are back to pre-Covid levels, as total passenger numbers reached 18.9 million in 2023,

3132-524: Was made a return service on 26 October 2020. The Channel Tunnel used by Eurostar services holds the record for having the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, and it is the third-longest railway tunnel (behind the Seikan Tunnel and the Gotthard Base Tunnel ) in the world. On 30 July 2003, a Eurostar train set a new British speed record of 334.7 km/h (208.0 mph) on

3190-555: Was opened in 1841 by the Rhenish Railway Company . The line inside Germany has a length of about 70 kilometres (43 mi). The first 40 km (25 mi) from Cologne to Düren have been rebuilt. Since 2002 the line allows for speeds up to 250 km/h (155 mph). Separate tracks have been built parallel to the high-speed tracks for local S-Bahn traffic. The remaining line from Düren to Aachen allows speeds up to 160 km/h (100 mph) with some slower sections. High Speed 1, formerly known as

3248-487: Was quickly aborted. Construction began afresh in 1988. Eurotunnel was created to manage and own the tunnel, which was finished in 1993, the official opening taking place on 6 May 1994. In addition to the tunnel's shuttle trains carrying cars and lorries between Folkestone and Calais , the tunnel opened up the possibility of through passenger and freight train services between places further afield. British Rail and France's SNCF contracted with Eurotunnel to use half

3306-436: Was ruled out on cost grounds. Completion of High Speed   1 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. 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

3364-471: Was still 3 million below 2019 levels. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Eurostar has not served the Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International stations in the UK, or Calais Frethun in France, and has withdrawn its Disneyland Paris and Avignon services, as part of plans to focus on the most profitable routes. The LGV Nord ( French : Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord , English: north high-speed line )

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