Lyon, Marseille, Amsterdam, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva and more: Eurostar has just announced the possible opening of a dozen new destinations over the next two to five years. What are the reasons for this?
Mikaël Lemarchand - There is a real appetite for rail in Europe. The balance between rail and air is changing. Ten years ago, the common benchmark was a three-hour train journey; beyond that, air travel was preferred. We have gradually moved up to 3.5 hours, and today, beyond a four-hour journey, there are opportunities for customers who first and foremost choose the comfort of city-centre-to-centre transport. Of course, with 80 % of market share compared with air travel, Paris-London remains the backbone of our offer. But we don't want it to be the only thing that sums up Eurostar's image.
Why has the time come to roll out your offer?
MR L. - This has to be seen in the context of Eurostar's recent history. We are now the leading European rail company outside the incumbent operators. In 2011, our first full year of operation, Eurostar recorded a net profit of over £20 million (editor's note: €25 million) on a turnover of over £800 million (editor's note: €1 billion). Eurostar's financial situation is very healthy. This allows us to prepare for competition, develop our network and invest in new projects.
What projects do you have in mind?
MR L. - There are two main areas, each involving hundreds of millions of pounds of investment: rolling stock - with the renovation of existing trains and the purchase of new trains - and major work on our system of exchanges with our customers. Whether for sales or information, in real time in particular.
Let's stay with customers. What do your business passengers want?
MR L. - They really want us to continue to make their journeys easier, particularly access to the train, as we have done with the guaranteed boarding service. WiFi is also a strong expectation. We have installed it on the ground in all our terminals. On board, we are in the process of finalising the technical specifications. We want to ensure that, despite the presence of the Channel Tunnel, the service can be provided from end to end, without a hitch. Everything should be settled by next year.
What next?
MR L. - Listening to our customers is our compass. In our company, everyone, at every level, shares a common objective: to satisfy our customers. This changes a lot of things in terms of creativity and priorities. Every month, we come up with new products and new services. Even beyond transport, I think that business customers have real expectations of Eurostar. We are seen as a physical link between Europe's two major business capitals. There is a Eurostar 'business generation' that has been created over the last 18 years thanks to this link. If a French company wants to find out more about London, its reflex is to contact the Chamber of Commerce; but it's also to call Eurostar. We could capitalise on this image as a central point of contact and information. We're thinking about it...
His career
1997 : Graduate of ESSEC. Began his career in Berlin as management controller and pricing manager at Elf Aquitaine. Participated in the creation of a start-up in Hamburg, then joined Arthur D. Little in Paris as a consultant. Little in Paris.
2001 : Head of Marketing and Pricing at the SNCF's mainline branch, then Chief of Staff to the Chairman.
2008 : Director of Rail Development for Keolis.
2012 : Director of Eurostar stations, member of the Management Committee.
