After two years of Covid, which almost led to Eurostar to bankruptcyEurostar Group, which was formed by the merger of Eurostar with its cousin Thalys, has found a new home. the path to growth in 2022. The year saw sales of €1.5 billion, 2.5 times more than in 2021, on 14.8 million passengers, divided between 8.3 million for Eurostar and 6.5 million for Thalys. Reverse travel was particularly strong, with the Group recovering 80% of its 2019 volumes in just three months after the impact of the Omnicron variant.
Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar Group, emphasised her customers' desire to travel and their choice of high-speed rail, a transport solution that emits less CO2. " Eurostar Group has turned the page on Covid and is now focusing on towards a new chapter, she stated in a press release. These results are encouraging, as we aim to become the backbone of sustainable travel in Europe. ". The next stage, in the third quarter, will be the disappearance of the Thalys brand in favour of Eurostar and its new logo, which will be the focus of a major marketing campaign.
London-Amsterdam fills to capacity
The strongest growth was recorded in 2022 on the Eurostar London-Amsterdam service, which now benefits from a direct daily return, without changing trains at Brussels-Midi station. Overall business traffic, on the other hand, is still struggling, with only 80% of pre-pandemic volumes. This is due to the boom in videoconferencing generated by the health crisis, to periods of strikes in the three countries served, and also to Brexit, which has resulted in thousands of employees returning to the Old Continent, particularly in the banking and finance sector.
Debt falls back below one billion euros
The return to better fortunes has enabled the rail group to bring forward the repayment of its debt by €127m, which still stands at €964m. As a result, the group claims to have free rein to finance future projects which involves redesigning the customer journey and booking channels.
In autumn, the new Eurostar brand will benefit from the launch of an application, a website and a new website. loyalty programme unique. Harmonisation of on-board services is not expected before 2024, with Eurostar Group currently maintaining its target of carrying 30 million passengers by 2030. A doubling of traffic in the space of eight years...". We still have room for improvement if we are to achieve our ambitions "concluded Gwendoline Cazenave.
