On 16 January, a group of EPF representatives met senior management of Eurostar in Brussels, continuing a format established already some years ago thanks to Christopher Irwin. Members from all countries served by Eurostar were present, and a broad range of issues were discussed.

Eurostar is unusual among Europe’s railways as a fully commercial operation running only international high-speed services. It does so with success – passenger numbers last year stood at 20 million, and 30 million are envisaged for 2030. Load factors are similar to those of highly efficient budget airlines, which is the more remarkable considering that Eurostar trains also have business and premier class where loadings are typically lower. Providing more services will remain a challenge until the new fleet arrives in the coming years. This is one of the reasons why re-activating stops in Kent and Northern France will only be taken in consideration again after the fleet change has been completed.

50 new double-decker trains with a length of 200m have been ordered, and a 20 % increase in capacity is envisaged. An option for another 20 units may be taken up later. Eurostar is considering various new routes to use them, but no firm announcements can be made yet. EPF delegates pointed out that the existing routes still have potential as well, considering for example the high number of flights still offered between London and Amsterdam. They continue to seek changes to the channel tunnel “security” rules so that rail passengers are no longer subject to controls which generally do not exist on most of the European rail network.

Service quality issues were also discussed at length. Overall punctuality last year reached 81 % of trains arriving at their destination within 15 minutes of the announced arrival time, but this excludes delays due to border crossing procedures. By route, London-Amsterdam and other London services do better and those to Germany significantly worse, reflecting the widely known problems of Germany’s railways. Punctuality has remained stable last year, which can be considered a success considering services have increased by 7 % on often saturated infrastructure.

Nevertheless, the Channel tunnel also was the site of major problems in the recent past, when both tracks got blocked on New Years Eve, leaving three trains with passengers stranded for hours and in the end through the night. Eurostar explained the sequence of events to the EPF delegation. While the situation undoubtedly was hard for the passengers affected, and information could have been better, it is also clear that this was an exceptional multiple failure, and lack of information in part also prevented Eurostar from taking better decisions. They depend on infrastructure owner GetLink, and it was interesting to learn that they will get almost no compensation for the disruption caused by infrastructure failures. Reviews are ongoing to learn from this incident and improve procedures for the future.

Customer care issues were the third main topic. Following complaints from passengers who had been denied a rebooking, EPF learned that this must be done via the customer service centre if a change of class is involved. While Eurostar said not to leave seats intentionally empty, it seems this process needs to be publicised better.

The availability of through tickets continues to remain a difficult issue. While Eurostar stated interest in expanding the range of through tickets (as well as separate “add on”-tickets sold via its channels), the only real advancement in this respect in the near future seems to be a new combined offer with Belgian railways (replacing the previous one). It may well be that greater progress will only be achieved with new EU regulatory measures under discussion at the moment, and when the new “Great British Railways” is in operation in the UK.

Vice versa, improvements are taking place in assistance provided to people with reduced mobility. Demand for these services is rising, reflecting growth in passenger numbers and aging societies. Furthermore, Eurostar is taking a broader view on “disabilities” and increases the range of features aimed at specific needs. For instance, the company has signed the “autism charter”, introduced luggage assistance at Dutch stations, increased its staff’s language skills and improved station wheelchair provision. More such measures are planned for the coming year.

All in all, we had constructive discussions with 5 members of the Eurostar team who made us welcome in their Brussels Office.