Eurostar, the high-speed rail passenger service that links London to Paris and Brussels announced that they have awarded the design contract for the interior refurbishment of its fleet to the Italian design consultancy Pininfarina. Rail Europe, Eurostar's primary distributor on non-European markets, welcomes this news which will contribute to making travel by train even more comfortable and popular.
Eurostar is already the #1 transportation mode between London and Paris/Brussels. Their goal with this refurbishment is to anticipate the 21st century travelers' expectations and to offer the highest standards in comfort, style and innovation. Pininfarina's design will focus on a great travel experience, thus mixing their style and outstanding functionality with a clear vision of future train travel.
Pininfarina is a world-class design house that is best known for its work in the car industry (with prestige brands such as Ferrari and Maserati) but has also extensive experience in the rail industry, having designed the interiors and exteriors of Italy’s high-speed trains, rolling stock for Swiss, Danish and Norwegian Railways, automated light rail cars in Lille (France) and trams for cities in Italy, Greece, Sweden and Turkey
The first renovated Eurostar trains (out of the 28 in the fleet) are due in service in 2012. This refurbishment follows that of numerous high speed trains in Europe: TGVs in France in 2007 (new design by French designer Christian Lacroix), Italian high speed trains in 2008 (by Pininfarina) as well as Thalys, between France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, in 2009 (new interiors by Ethoven Associates Design Consultants & Première Design Graphique).
"We're thrilled about this great news, says Laurent Bijaoui, Marketing Director for Rail Europe. As the worldwide leading distributors of European rail products, we are happy have the European railways for partners -and Eurostar in particular - as such initiatives clearly illustrate their sincere and entire commitment to making our customers journeys a safe, comfortable and memorable European experience".
For more information about Eurostar, to purchase your Rail Pass or ticket, please consult your Rail Europe travel agent. Contact details to be found on www.raileurope.fr.