Eurostar

"Business travel has picked up more quickly than we expected in 2022, especially when you consider that we are still only running around three quarters of our pre-pandemic transport plan". François Le Doze, Eurostar's commercial director, makes this positive assessment for the business travel ecosystem, and says he is "convinced that this recovery will have a positive...

Following the green light given to the Eurostar/Thalys merger by the European Commission in March, a new stage in this project has just been completed with the merger of the two rail companies within the Eurostar Group holding company, named after the cross-Channel carrier, the brand name that will continue to exist. While Eurostar Group's address is...

Does the Uber application claim to be a super app, a jack-of-all-trades model that is already widespread on the Asian market? In any case, the American giant is getting closer to it every year by diversifying its functionalities. And the latest initiative marks a major step forward in this process, particularly for business travellers, who will soon be able to...

The horizon is clearing for the planned merger between the Eurostar and Thalys rail companies. The European Commission has just given the go-ahead for the merger, ruling that "the proposed concentration would not raise competition concerns, given its very limited impact on market structure". [link-block prefix="A...

Since Monday, SNCF has reduced its operations. The reason: the health situation, of course, which is affecting not only demand (-30% since the start of the year on the TGV network) but also the group's teams. "It's not a question of unexpected train cancellations, but of adapted transport plans,...

Are you allowed to eat while travelling or not? This is not such a trivial question, following the government's announcement at the end of last week that it would be forbidden to eat food on board trains. Especially on long journeys. Before taking a plane or a train, will we have to hurry up and gobble down some food?

The French government has adopted tighter control measures for Covid in response to an increase in the number of cases of contamination in the United Kingdom. The country is now classified as a risk orange, meaning that there is active circulation of the virus there, albeit in controlled proportions. Hence the new measures for travellers...

While Deutsche Bahn was expected to take over the Paris-London/London-Brussels routes a few years ago, it is now Renfe that is embarking on the cross-Channel rail adventure, which weighed in at some 9 million passengers before Covid. The Spanish carrier confirmed its ambitions yesterday, with the aim of competing with Eurostar on the Paris-London route....

Eurostar is picking up speed again after a critical period during the health crisis which saw its activity virtually brought to a halt and necessitated its recapitalisation by its shareholders. Its range of frequencies has been increased to 7 daily return services on the Paris-London route and 4 return services on the Paris-Brussels route, with two continuing on to Rotterdam and Amsterdam,...

After months of uncertainty and constraints, demand is back for business travel on the Eurostar network. On 19 August, the rail company announced a 105% increase in weekend bookings in August and September compared with the same period last year. Admittedly, this increase is...

This rarely happens in the UK. The employers' organisation London First, which brings together many of the UK's largest companies, has written to ask the Treasury and the Department for Transport to take action on behalf of Eurostar. In their letter, they urge "swift action to safeguard the future of the rail carrier". They want...

As announced over the weekend, Boris Johnson's government has decided to apply even stricter containment measures. The reason: the discovery of a new, more contagious variant of the virus. A new danger level, labelled '4', now applies to London and the south-east of England. All travel is banned in this zone, while...

Eurostar has just launched Eurostar For Business in the UK, a new booking platform for its cross-Channel trains aimed at business customers, with all booking files now grouped together in a single area. Above all, to encourage business travellers to use this portal, Eurostar is offering benefits for every 15 return journeys between London...

The travel experience on high-speed trains between Europe and the UK is now back to normal. Since 7 September, passengers have been able to enjoy a full range of catering services on board Eurostar trains. Limited for a time due to the pandemic, this development comes on top of the reopening of the lounges...

The United Kingdom's sudden decision to re-introduce compulsory quarantine for travellers to several European Union countries within a matter of hours has further dampened hopes of a return to normal traffic flows. The decision was justified by the upsurge in cases of coronavirus in certain parts of these countries. The UK's Department for...

With the reopening of Europe's borders, rail companies are resuming their international services. In particular, the SNCF and its subsidiaries operating between Paris and Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Good news for business travellers who need to get away. There is one major exception, however, with the...

The end of the lockdown is approaching, and the business travel industry is taking steps to prepare for tomorrow's journeys. Since Monday 4 May, masks have been compulsory for anyone wishing to board a Thalys or Eurostar train. Masks must also be worn at stations. In addition to being denied boarding,...

The timing is ironic: on 4 February at 7.48am, just a few days after Brexit came into force, Eurostar's management celebrated the inauguration of the direct service between Amsterdam and London. It was a symbolic inauguration, attended by Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen, Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, Ankie Broekers-Knol,...

On Friday 31 January at 11pm in London and midnight in Brussels, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union after 1,317 days of procrastination and three postponements of the Brexit process. For travellers between the UK and Europe, not much has changed in practice. Planes will continue to fly between the continent and...

27 June 2018. This is a key date for rail transport in France, as it corresponds to the promulgation of the reform for a new rail pact, the main measure of which is the opening up of passenger traffic to competition. Although this has been in force since 2009 on international routes, the law authorises new players to enter the market.