Rail Europe

Travel in style with Eurostar

Looking for travel between London, Paris and Brussels?
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The Leisure Select class is the ultimate in onboard indulgence, with a three-course meal, roomy seats and attentive service, offering the perfect start to your city break.

Explore the three most vibrant Europe capitals, experience the state-of-the-art Eurostar train, join London and Paris in only 2h15 or London and Brussels in 1h50 and enjoy the thrill of a 20 minutes ride under the Channel.

* Fares valid to any itinerary, non exchangeable, non refundable and subject to availability

One week to go until launch of Eurostar services from St Pancras International

MORE THAN ONE MILLION PASSENGERS BOOK TO TRAVEL ON HIGH SPEED 1 AS HM THE QUEEN OPENS ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL

ONE WEEK TO GO UNTIL LAUNCH OF EUROSTAR SERVICES
Tuesday 13 November – last trains from Waterloo International
Wednesday 14 November - first trains from St Pancras International

Rail Europe is glad to announce that Eurostar, the high-speed train operator linking the UK and the Continent, (Tuesday 6 November) has today taken more than 1 million bookings for travel on High Speed 1, the UK’s first 186mph line.
The milestone was passed with just one week to go before the launch of Eurostar services from St Pancras International, and represents an 11% increase in the number of bookings at the same time last year. It is further evidence that the prospect of making international rail journeys through the superbly restored station is proving highly popular with travellers between the UK and the Continent.
To! night’s royal opening of St Pancras International by HM Queen Elizabeth II signals the final seven days of preparation to move Eurostar’s entire London operations overnight from Waterloo, and to begin commercial services from Eurostar’s new central London home on the morning of Wednesday 14 November.
London & Continental Railways has completed the £5.8 billion engineering project on time and within budget.  While St Pancras International will next week become Eurostar’s new London terminal, High Speed 1 will provide Eurostar with a dedicated, 68-mile (109 km) high-speed line between central London and the Channel Tunnel. 
The new line will enable Eurostar trains to operate at 186mph (300 km/h) across Kent - 50% faster than any other UK rail service - cutting journey times between London and the Continent by at least 20 minutes.

To purchase Eurostar tickets, consult your Rail Europe travel agent www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

Eurostar sets a new record for the journey between Brussels and London

Rail Europe is delighted to announce that last Thursday, 20th of September, Eurostar, the high-speed train operator that links the UK with the European Continent, achieved the fastest journey time ever between Brussels and London, setting a new record for the journey between the Belgian and British capitals.

It took just 1 hour and 43 minutes to cover the 373 km (232 mile) distance, travelling at 300km/h (186mph) on the UK’s new high-speed line, High Speed 1. It was also the first run from Brussels to arrive at St.Pancras International, Eurostar's new terminal in the heart of London, , which will open on 14th November 2007.

On board the inaugural run were 12 journalists from Australia, Japan, India, South Korea, Hong-Kong, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina & Malaysia, invited by Rail Europe and Eurostar to discover high-speed Europe. This journey closed the week long 2007 Rail Europe Press Trip, which this year focused on the high ! speed trains members of the rail alliance, RailTeam, of which Eurostar is a founder member.

On the 5th of September, Eurostar also broke the record between Paris and London, with a run of just 2 hours and 3 minutes and 39 seconds!) for the 492 km distance, running at speeds of up to 320km/h (200 mph) on the French and British High Speed Lines.

From 14 November, the scheduled non-stop time between St Pancras International and Brussels will be 1 hour and 51 minutes, cutting at least 20 minutes off the current journey time from Waterloo. The time savings between Paris and London will also be at least 20 minutes, and the scheduled non-stop time will be 2 hours 15 minutes. Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: "Today’s journey puts London and Brussels firmly within the ‘two hour club". Eurostar is quite simply the fastest, most convenient way to travel – avoiding wasted time and money in getting to out-of-town airports, lengthy! check-in times, and baggage reclaim delays.

From 14 November, E urostar will also move to its new London terminal overnight, with services at Waterloo ending the previous evening.

Eurostar tickets are available through Rail Europe’s accredited sales agents in your country.
Just log on to www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy to find their contact details.

Eurostar is moving. 14th November 2007

Rail Europe is glad to announce that from 24th July, travellers can book their Eurostar tickets to/from Saint Pancras International for their journeys between 14th to 19th November through Rail Europe's accredited sales agents. The sales to/from the other new station, Ebbsfleet International, are also open.

Wednesday, 14th November 2007 will be a big day for Eurostar. It's the day they launch services from / to Saint Pancras International in central London and the day Eurostar starts running on High Speed 1, the UK's first high speed line.

HS1 (High Speed 1)

High Speed 1 is the biggest engineering project in the UK for over 100 years. With 109 km of high speed track (a quarter of it underground), HS1 will allow Eurostar to travel at its full speed of 300 kmh (186 mph) all the way from the centre of London to the Channel tunnel. Thanks to this new high speed line, journey times will be reduced by at least 20 minutes to offer more seamless journeys and trains will be even more punctual.
Journey times from/to Saint Pancras International will be as follows:
Paris: 2h15
Brussels: 1h51
Lille: 1h20

Saint Pancras International

On 14th November, Eurostar moves from Waterloo International Station and launches services from Saint Pancras International in central London. As of this date, all journeys will depart from/arrive to Saint Pancras International and no longer from Waterloo International.

Saint Pancras is a beautiful Victorian station, with red rubber bricks and streaky bacon stone. It is being transformed, setting new standards for a railway station in the XXIst century. Taking inspiration from New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Saint Pancras International will be “Europe’s destination station”.
The modern Saint Pancras has been designed with the customer at its heart, with a world class brasserie, arcade shopping and a daily farmers’ market selling the very best, fresh, British and Continental products. And last but not least, overlooking the platforms will be the longest Champagne Bar of Europe!

To top it off, Saint Pancras International has also the best connectivity of all the central London stations. It has 6 underground lines and is close to 7 mainline operators at Saint Pancras International, King’s Cross and Euston. Travellers can easily reach the north of England, discover the rolling countryside of the Lake District and the jewels of Scotland.

Kent stations

Ebbsfleet International
On 19th November will open a new Kent station, Ebbsfleet International.
Between Ashford and London, conveniently located close to major highways including M25, M20, M2, A2, the Dartford Crossing and Bluewater shopping centre, Ebbsfleet will offer an easy “park and ride” option to many travellers.
High speed domestic services from Ebbsfleet International will begin in 2009, taking travellers to Saint Pancras International in 17 minutes flat at speeds up to 225 kmh / 140 mph. It will become both an international and domestic rail hub with easy access by rail to all of Kent.

Ashford
Eurostar will still run services from Ashford International and its services will complement those offered at Ebbsfleet International.
Services stopping at Ashford International will be timed to suit both Leisure and Business travellers. There will be 3 trains a day to Paris along with the daily direct Eurostar to Disneyland and the weekly Avignon trains during the summer.

For more information about these services or to purchase an Eurostar ticket, please consult your Rail Europe travel agent. List to be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

EUROPEAN HIGH SPEED RAIL OPERATORS LAUNCH RAILTEAM

Railteam makes international travel on high-speed trains
to and from Europe easy for travellers

Real alternative to air alliances and to travel by car

By 2010, 25 million international travellers on European
high-speed rail network

Rail Europe, the leading distributor of European Rail Products overseas is glad to advertise that on 2 July 2007, seven European high speed train operators announced the start of Railteam. SNCF (France), SBB (Switzerland), Eurostar (UK, France and Belgium), Deutsche Bahn (Germany), SNCB (Belgium), NS Hispeed (The Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), and subsidiaries Thalys, Lyria and Alleo offer then to give travellers seamless high-speed train travel across international borders in Western Europe.

The already wide range of products of Rail Europe, with a Western European high speed rail network that links over 45 major urban destinations in Europe via over 4,700km of track, will keep on growing as the network will stretch to 6,000 km by 2010 and will triple in size by 2020. However, despite the size and continuing growth of the high speed rail network, many international travellers remain unaware of the benefits of taking high speed rail.

Easy, faster and seamless journeys.

From today, if for any reason, a traveller misses their connection because of a late running service, Railteam will ensure they can hop on the next train, irrespective of the ticket type they have.

Rail Europe’s offer will gain in quality with the diffusion of multi-lingual information onboard trains and in stations that will ensure international travellers know where, when and how to connect onto other services.

Railteam information points will be installed in the five main hubs (Brussels, Cologne, Lille, Frankfurt and Stuttgart), and in the coming months, at other major stations such as London, Strasbourg, Amsterdam and in the main high-speed train stations in Paris.

To reduce transit times for travellers, Railteam partners will also better coordinate connecting departure and arrival times.

Railteam members are investing 30 million euro in a new distribution system that will allow international travellers to find an attractive combination of prices, make a reservation, pay, and receive their ticket from Rail Europe in one transaction.  The new system will go live in 2009.

Railteam also will seek to introduce new innovations as technologies develop over forthcoming years such as text messaging about timetables and service disruptions.

A greener and mart choice: the choice of the future!

Rail Europe expects that with travel on high-speed trains becoming even easier and smoother, increasing numbers of travellers will opt for environmentally friendly high speed train travel within Europe. It is common knowledge that high speed rail journeys release significantly less carbon dioxide than flying to the same destinations.

Extensive research has also shown that business travellers are willing to travel up to four hours on rail because of the increased productivity versus the airlines, whilst leisure travellers are prepared to enjoy longer journeys of around 6 hours.

By 2010, the Railteam members expect 25 million international travellers to be using their European high-speed rail network.

Guillaume Pepy, Chief Executive Officer of SNCF said: “It is achievable when you consider that Rail is served by city centre terminals. Factor in the transport time,travelling to airports, grinding traffic jams, security delays ans so on, and it’s pretty clear that on travel times alone high-speed rail is, at the very least, a realistic alternative on any journey across the Railteam member states”

“High-speed rail represents the future of sustainable, comfortable travel across Europe.”

EUROSTAR – Ebbsfleet International

Eurostar announced the opening of a new station, Ebbsfleet International, in autumn 2007, which will enable UK travellers to access the Eurostar services to France and Belgium, without having to drive into Central London. This new station, strategically located near Dartford in Kent close by major roads and the Bluewater shopping centre, will give travellers an easy alternative to London’s overcrowded airports. Ebbsfleet is indeed more quickly accessible than any of London’s airports including Heathrow.

Ebbsfleet International will be a 2h05 journey to Paris, 1h41 to Brussels and 1h10 to Lille.

Almost half of the Eurostar services will stop at Ebbsfleet International, with time-tables to suit both business and leisure travellers. The new station will offer 9,000 parking spaces and seamless connections to public transport. The service will commence once the switch has been made from Waterloo to St. Pancras International, in the autumn of 2007.

For more information on using the Eurostar service, please contact your agent www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

RAILTEAM is now on tracks!

A major step forward has been achieved with the agreement in Berlin, on June 14th, between the major European railways – German, Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss and French. This alliance between the main high-speed services operating in Europe (Thalys, ICE, Eurostar, Lyria, TGV...) will offer travellers top quality service on Europe’s high-speed network. RAILTEAM is similar in concept to alliances set up by the major airlines.

Types of services which will be offered by mid-2007 include:

• Facilitating tickets, rates and platform changes at “hubs” such as Brussels, Frankfurt or Charles de Gaulle airport
• Harmonising rates, on-board services, in-station services to increase awareness of high-speed services
• Access to top notch services – waiting rooms, internet access
• Combining passenger loyalty schemes and determining passenger rights
• Combining marketing and communication activities to encourage usages of high-speed services in Europe

The alliance will be headed up by a top level committee with 4 working groups to implement plans. Guillaume Pepy, CEO of the French Railways, commenting on this new alliance said “Our ambition is to bring high-speed Europe to customers. By combining German and French services, we have a large network and top level quality service on offer. We aim to be the rail alternative for customers looking for an alternative to the airline offer.”

Eurostar new Fare Range

From August 1st, Rail Europe will introduce Eurostar new fare range.
This new fare range is designed to better meet today’s travellers’ needs, with:

• Less restrictions: you no longer need to travel between Monday and Thursday from 11am to 3pm to enjoy cheap fares!
• Cheaper prices: up to 47% discount when you buy a return ticket.
• Wider range of fares: new fare levels for senior, youth and pass holders, increasing your chances to get a good price.
• Optimized fares and availability, for individuals, groups and Tour Operators.

For more information about this new Eurostar fare range, please contact your agent www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

Da Vinci Code team takes Eurostar to Cannes

Another Guinness World Record was set when the Da Vinci Code team took the longest non-stop train ride on board Eurostar from London to Cannes. Prior to leaving London at 9h40 (GMT), Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou as well as the producer Ron Howard baptised the specially branded “Da Vinci Code” train. The entire cast (Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jûrgen Prochnow, Paul Bettany and Jean Reno) as well as the production team continued on a 1,421km journey to Cannes arriving 7 hours and 25 minutes later, the day before the opening of the Cannes Film Festival. A representative from the Guinness Book of Records was there to meet the “Da Vinci Code” Eurostar in Cannes and validate the record.

Guillaume Pepy, President of Eurostar, made the following comment “This is an extraordinary performance, as Eurostar has set a new world record for high speed trains. We had the privilege of taking the actors and the team from London to Cannes – top class service in a high speed train. The team will live yet another extraordinary experience at the Cannes Film Festival.”

Eurostar post record results

The numbers speak for themselves. Eurostar sales are up 7% in 2005, compared with 2004 as 7,5 million people travelled on the service linking the UK to France and Belgium. Business travellers represented a 14% increase on the previous year, demonstrating that Eurostar is becoming THE choice over airlines. The service can now boast a 71% market share on the London-Paris route and 64% of the London Brussels route.

More services will be added to maintain Eurostar’s already high standards and services in 2006. The major campaign, mentioned in our previous issue, with the release of the movie of Dan Brown’s block-buster “The Da Vinci Code” will no doubt bring a further increase in bookings are visitors follow up on the locations and star-hangouts in both London and Paris.

Da Vinci Code and Eurostar

When the movie of Dan Brown’s world famous blockbuster, Da Vinci Code, is globally released on May 19th of this year, Eurostar, its first global parter, will launch a major tourist campaign to attract travellers to the UK, Scotland and France. Eurostar will work with the tourist boards of all three countries to encourage tourists interested in visiting the trail followed by Robert Langdon, the hero, portrayed by Tom Hanks.

As part of the promotional campaign, Eurostar will promote the film through a series of initiatives in France, the UK, Belgium, the US, and a few overseas markets.
Rail Europe will be associated with some of these initiatives and will give you more information later on.

The Da Vinci Code has already generated huge interest among its readers, with visitors coming to visit and scrutinise many of the locations mentioned. The film will revive interest and London and Paris will be hot tourist destinations in 2006!

Eurostar is the high-speed service which links London to Brussels, to Paris with links through to the French Alps, the South of France and Disneyland Resort Paris. Travellers in Brussels can also connect to Cologne and Amsterdam.

For further information on reserving Da Vinci Code trails or visiting the UK, France or Beligum, please contact your agent.

Europe’s high speed network: concepts and plans

Europe’s high speed network continues its tentacular spread. Initially instigated by the French and German railways, over twenty years ago, Spain, Italy and the UK are catching up and making up for lost years with a growing network. It is interesting to see how each country has developed its concept of high speed, in terms of infrastructure, rolling stock and service areas. The 5th Eurailspeed Congress, recently held in Milan, provided an excellent opportunity to review the high speed services in operation and preview developments for the coming years.

In Germany, the focus is on connectivity. ICE services stop between major towns and cities within 150 km of each other on a given route. As a result, speeds rarely surpass 300km and only for a short time. Reservations are not obligatory on these services.

The French concept of high speed is to compete directly with the airlines. With direct services between Paris-Marseille (800 km apart) travelling at speeds of over 300kms, the three hour journey has eaten into airline market share.

The Spanish Railways, Renfe, opted for the latest ICE design for the Madrid-Barcelona a high speed service with a focus on passenger comfort.

The Netherlands announced, however, that the high speed line from Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp will not commence service in 2007 but in 2008.

The year 2007 will see many new projects enter into commercial service, Eurostar’s new terminal at St. Pancras, the TGV East will bring Strasbourg and Nancy much closer to Paris and stretch through to Germany...we shall keep you informed on a regular basis on progress on these projects.

The UIC (International Union for Railways) has participated actively in moving forward the trans-national developments for the European railways. As part of the move to integrate these services across Europe, signaling and power are being adapted and standardised to ensure smooth passage from one country’s system to another. On the ticketing side, Eurostar and Thalys plan to issue joint tickets in 2006. This alliance will benefit travellers to the World Cup matches in Germany. We will keep you informed in future issues of the Press Release.

Lastly, financing new lines and material is also on the UIC agenda, with Western European railways show-casing choices made to enable their Eastern European counterparts prepare for the extension of lines into their regions.

The future for travellers using high speed services in Europe is due to improve even more.

Excellent Annual Results for Eurostar and Thalys

Business is booming for Eurostar operators. Traffic figures announced for 2004, showed 7,27 million travellers used the service, breaking the year 2000 previous record of 7 million passengers. This 15% increase in passengers brought in a turnover of 618 million euros. Some of this success can be attributed to the shortening of the Eurostar journeys between London-Paris, which dropped to 2h35, a time saving of 20 minutes.

As with other transport operators, Eurostar encountered a drop in passengers following the 11 September attacks, the economic recession experienced in some continental countries, as well as delays on the UK section of the line.
• Eurostar runs up to 19 trains on the Paris-London line on a daily basis and 11 trains on the Brussels-London line on a daily basis.
• Bookings for Eurostar can be made with all Rail Europe agents. For more details, please check the website www.raileurope.fr

Latest announcements from Eurostar confirm that construction of the 39 km stretch of track, on the UK side, is making good progress and on schedule for 2007 – despite the complexity of the work involved. The 2h35 journey will be shortened by a further 15 minutes and passengers will arrive into St. Pancras, in the north of London. Most of the work is taking place in urban parts of London and under the Thames.

Thalys operators – the French, Belgian, Dutch and German railways - also posted excellent results for 2004. Thalys carried 5,95 million passengers, which represents a 3,9% increase on 2003 and posted a turnover of 318 million euros, a 5,6% increase on the previous year.
Travellers are neatly divided between business and leisure. Satisfaction levels with service are at an all-time high of 86% and over 85% of the trains arrive on schedule.
Thalys’ Managing Director, Mr Dancoisne, pointed to their objective of shortening the journey time between Brussels and Amsterdam, Brussels and Cologne which will increase travellers’ interest in the service.

• Thalys services operate between Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam and Paris-Brussels-Cologne
• Bookings for Thalys can be made with all Rail Europe agents. For more details, please check the website www.raileurope.fr for the list of agents.