The horizon is clearing for the planned merger between the rail companies Eurostar and Thalys. The European Commission has just given the green light to this merger, considering that " the proposed merger would not raise competition concerns, given its very limited impact on market structure" .
It will be called "Green Speed" when it is launched in September 2019, and will be piloted by SNCF, the majority shareholder in Eurostar and Thalys, the merger was put on hold because of the pandemic Covid and its major impact on the traffic and accounts of the two operators. On the verge of bankruptcyEurostar had to be recapitalised in spring 2021 by its shareholders, SNCF, Caisse des Dépôts et Placements du Québec, Hermès Infrastructure and SNCB, the Belgian railways.
" SNCF is delighted with this positive outcome. This is the final stage before the new legal structure is set up at the beginning of April, followed by the start of operations in May, with a service expected to be available by 2024." said an SNCF spokeswoman.
SNCF to retain majority stake in new Eurostar
SNCF is expected to own 55.7 % of the new Eurostar company. with the Thalys brand set to disappear -The remainder of the capital will be shared between the other current shareholders of the carrier linking London to Paris and Brussels. While the fleets of the two airlines will be pooled, the creation of two brands had been discussed with Eurostar Blue corresponding to cross-Channel and Eurostar Red for services from Paris-Nord station to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
To overcome the financial losses caused by the pandemic, shareholders expect significant savings from the merger, thanks to the pooling of purchasing, resources and the high-speed train fleet. Passengers, and business travellers in particular, will benefit fromadditional opportunities for journeys and connections between the two networks. And greater fluidity with a strong brand - Eurostar - a single mobile application, a single loyalty programme and a single sales team to negotiate corporate contracts.
New offers coming soon for companies
New price offers should be available to businesses when the new Eurostar is launched. " This merger is clearly a growth project which will enable us to be more aggressive in five countries with a better understanding of the specific features of these different markets" François Le Doze, Eurostar's commercial director, told us a few months ago. " Green Speed's ambition is to accelerate the recovery and develop a new vision of high-speed rail in Europe." SNCF confirmed.
