Eurostar has just opened a new business lounge in the Gare du Nord station. Has "The Lounge", designed by Philippe Starck in 2008, become outdated?
Nicolas Petrovic - The inauguration of this new Business Premier lounge is part of a wider investment in the Gare du NordThis is due to the growth in traffic, which rose from 9 million passengers in 2008 to 10 million in 2016. Eurostar is a victim of its own success and the old lounge had become too small. Fortunately, thanks to our subsidiary Gares & Connexions of the SNCFThe new building features some very attractive spaces on the second floor - previously offices and originally a hotel - which have preserved many of the 19th-century decorative features. We will now be able to start work on the boarding area, with an extension to the waiting room and the installation of new shops. In the same vein, we have renovated the Business Premier lounge at Brussels-Midi station, and we will be making slight modifications to the lounge at London St Pancras International, where we are also considering more extensive projects.
How much has Eurostar invested?
N. P. - We are approaching the billion euro mark, including more than 700 million euros in our fleet. These are significant investments, but well worth it given the growth prospects. Our new e320 trainsets have 900 seats, compared with 750 for the current TGVs. This represents a 20 % increase in capacity. To make it easier for business customers to board in Paris, we are also going to install e-gatesautomatic passport control gates. A similar system has already been installed at London St Pancraswith Parafe airlocks.
Where do you stand on the integration of the e320 trains and the renovation of the old trains?
N. P. - Eurostar has already received 12 of the 17 new e320 trains ordered from Siemens and all will be in service by mid 2018. At the same time, we are continuing with the renovation of the old trainsets, which should be completed by the end of 2018. At present, most of the service on the Paris-London route is operated by the 12 new trains and three renovated trains. Customer feedback on this new service has been excellent. We have just made a few adjustments, such as dimming the lighting.
our business customers, who account for 40 % of traffic, are much more varied today than they were 15 years ago
How is traffic behaving?
N. P. - Business was difficult in 2016 due to the attacks in Paris and Brussels, which led to a 4 % drop in traffic, which ultimately amounted to just over 10 million passengers. The upturn came at the end of the year, with record sales for the Christmas holiday period. Eurostar has made a good start to 2017, particularly with business customers, as economic activity remains buoyant in both the UK and France.
Do you think the Brexit could have an impact on Eurostar's business?
N. P. - So far, we haven't seen anything negative, quite the contrary. We must remain optimistic. Paris and London are world cities where business activity is on the rise. To this network of major world cities, we will add Amsterdam at the end of the year with a journey time of 3 hours 52 minutes from London. What's more, our business customers, who account for 40 % of traffic, are much more varied today than they were 15 years ago. It is no longer limited to banking and finance. Our customers also work in consultancy, fashion and luxury goods, technology, energy, etc. As far as identity and baggage security checks are concerned, they already exist today. Eurostar is 23 years old and we are at an important moment in the life of the company, which is relaunching itself and opening up to new horizons. Customers are happy and impatient to experience this with us. Faced with the competition that may emerge tomorrow on our routes, Eurostar is investing in service and trains, because our best asset is satisfied customers.
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