Eurostar

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This article is about high-speed trains between London and Brussels / Paris. For Italian trains called Eurostar, see Eurostar Italia.

Eurostar is a train service that connects London (Waterloo station) with Paris (Gare du Nord), Lille and Brussels (Gare du Midi). Trains cross the English Channel via the Channel Tunnel. The French and Belgian sections of the route use the same high-speed rail lines as the TGV and Thalys, and in England a new line is being built to the same standard. This is a two-phase project known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project (CTRL).

The first revenue-earning Eurostar trains ran in November 1994. Eurostar has established a dominant share of the market on the routes it serves - 68% for London-Paris and 63% for London-Brussels, as of November 2004. The company points out that these passenger figures represent a saving of 393,000 carbon dioxide-producing short-haul flights.

The journey time from London to Paris is currently 2 hours 35 minutes; London to Brussels is 2 hours 20 minutes. These times will be cut by 20 minutes in 2007 when the construction of the second phase of CTRL is completed, bringing the British portion of the route up to the same standards as the French and Belgian sections. Completion of the CTRL will also allow a significant increase in the number of Eurostar trains serving London. After phase two is completed, up to eight trains per hour in each direction will be able to travel from London to the continent, as timetabling will be unaffected by peak hour restrictions at London Waterloo and conflicts between Waterloo and Fawkham Junction.

Some Eurostar services stop en route at Ashford International and at Calais-Fréthun and Lille in northern France in addition to the three destination cities.

From 2007 all Eurostar trains will be routed through the CTRL to a new London terminus at St Pancras. The company had intended to retain some services to the existing Waterloo terminal, but this was ruled out on cost grounds. Some trains will additionally serve new stations at Ebbsfleet near Dartford in northwest Kent (to be called Ebbsfleet International or Dartford International railway station and Stratford International station in east London (near Stratford station, or Stratford Regional station as it will be called when Stratford International station is opened)

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Organisation

Eurostar services are under unified management, the Eurostar Group. In each country a member company undertakes Eurostar operation:

Image:Eurostar on CTRL.jpg


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Stations

From 2007, trains will run over the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, starting at St. Pancras

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Additional information

  • The Three Capitals trains are 400 metres long, weigh 800 tonnes and carry 750 passengers in 18 carriages (14 carriages for the 7 UK regional sets, not in use). In case of an incident in the Channel Tunnel the trains can be divided in two in order to evacuate the passengers in the unaffected carriages.
  • In Britain the trains are classified as Class 373 units. They were constructed by GEC-Alsthom (now Alstom) at its La Rochelle (France), Belfort (France) and Washwood Heath (England) sites. They can run on third rail and various catenary voltages, achieving a maximum in-service speed of 300 km/h (186.4 mph)when collecting current from 25 kV overhead catenary. They are essentially modified TGV sets, and some Eurostar trains not needed for cross-Channel runs are used in domestic TGV service by SNCF. In July 2003 a Eurostar train set a new UK rail speed record of 334.7 km/h (208.0 mph) during safety testing on the first section of the CTRL. This section opened for commercial services in September 2003 and has shortened journey times by 20 minutes, helping increase passenger numbers by as much as 20%.
  • The 27 Three Capitals Eurostar sets are being refurbished with a new interior, designed by Philippe Starck, from September 2004 on. The grey-yellow look (in Standard class) and the grey-red look (In First/Premium First) are being replaced with a more grey-brown look in Standard, and a grey-burnt orange in First class. The Premium First class was removed from sale in September 2005 as the company simplified its fare structure.
  • It was originally intended to run "regional Eurostars", direct services to Paris and Brussels from places in the United Kingdom other than London, (Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Edinburgh). After raising capital for the Rail link from various UK regional councils and authorities, the proposed service was canceled without ever starting. Influence by newly privatised companies like Virgin Trains guided the decision to determine the service would not be viable. Over a dozen of the shorter Eurostar trains were completed and handed over to Eurostar, and to this day some have never turned a wheel in use. A small number were operated by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) on the East Coast Main Line from London King's Cross railway station to Leeds and York whilst GNER performed its own refurbishment program.

'Nightstar' sleeper trains were never used, and they were sold to VIA Rail in Canada, which has branded them as Renaissance Cars [1].

  • Eurotunnel, the company that built and runs the Channel Tunnel, is a completely separate entity from Eurostar.

It is rumoured the new highspeed rail link from Brussels to Amsterdam and Koln may see Deutsche Bahn bid to launch competing services to the UK, and the possibility of new services from London Heathrow / Watford areas to Amsterdam and Koln using the regional eurostars.

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Trivia

  • Eurostar First Class is in the centre of the train. Officially this is to avoid confusion in the event of turning the train around. Unofficially, a reason claimed is that neither Britain nor France could agree which capital was more important and therefore deserved first class at the "their end" of the train. To avoid this first class was placed in the middle with second class at both ends.
  • 1 Extra Eurostar power car was built (3999), in the event of an incident rendering Eurostar without a front driving car, this could be utilised. This is usually undercover at North Pole depot in London.
  • All staff must be fluent in English or French. Staff use a combination and refer to this as "Franglais"
  • When the high speed line from London St Pancras to the tunnel is complete and the new highspeed line from Brussels to Amsterdam, it will be faster to travel by train to Amsterdam from London than to Manchester.
  • It used to be faster by train to Paris / Brussels than to travel to Manchester. It will be almost faster to take a Eurostar from London to Brussels than the regular train to Dover.
  • When designed, with safety in the tunnel, the Eurostar trains were built at considerable cost to have two independent power cars at each end (as part of the driving car) as opposed to other TGV spec which has the power car located in the centre of the train. The idea resulting from theory that in the event of a tunnel fire, the train could be split and the front / rear detached and driven out in the opposite direction. However during the only incident of fire to have occurred, the first emergency response was to cut all overhead power thereby rendering both power cars useless.
  • Eurostar maintains one of the spare "Regional" Eurostars for VIP use. This was more recently used for the UK high speed record run, transporting the Queen on a state visit to France and the Entente Cordial anniversary.
  • A Specially built depot was constructed in Manchester for the regional eurostars. Two Eurostars were stored unused for many years here. The depot famously had the words "Le Eurostar habite ici" "The Eurostar Lives Here" on the side, which was unremoved for many years. The depot is not used.
  • Due to the high speed of travel, the driver often cannot see signals fast enough to be able to respond accordingly. Therefore the next 5 signals are displayed digitally in the drivers cab.
  • Because in the UK Drivers sit on the left side, and France on the right, to avoid the driver switching seat, the Driver sits in the centre.
  • Every Eurostar "power car" has a 4 digit number starting with "3" (3xxx) This numbering fits the Eurostar as the TGV Mark 3 (Mark 2 being TGV Atlantique, and Mark 1 being the Original).
  • The second digit of the Eurostar number is the country which purchase (and owns) the Eurostar. 30xx UK, 31xx Belgium, 32xx France.
  • Of the 38 Eurostars sets built, 18 are required for daily use. (SNCF repossessed 10 Unused Eurostars for use on Domestic services between Paris and Lille) GNER Used upto 4 Eurostars, this arrangement has concluded.
  • When constructed, two French towns sued each other for the right to have Eurostar in their town however in the UK two towns were sued each other to have Eurostar taken away.
  • London International is the name used for the Eurostar platforms, to avoid upsetting French visitors who would otherwise arrive at "Waterloo".
  • Eurostar is the only UK gateway to have French Border patrols, to save time when boarding in London/Ashford passengers complete French immigration, and upon arrival at Gare Du Nord, passengers just have to walk off the platform and go, the same is true in Paris where UK customs/border is completed before departure, this is depending on political circumstance at the time.
  • It can cost more than £20 in energy to stop a Eurostar from full speed.
  • The North Pole depot in London is over 1 mile long, has its own bus service and staff use bicycles to cycle.
  • Eurostar only accomodates wheelchairs in first class.
  • In France tickets are sold by SNCF, in Belgium by SNCB. In the UK by Eurostar.
  • A Commuter service from Calais to London was proposed when the CTRL is finished, taking less than 1 hour, and 45 minutes from Ashford.
  • At its cheapest, 38 Roundtrips, costing approximately £2000 you can earn 1 free roundtrip ticket on Eurostar, in Economy Class using the frequent traveller program.
  • Le Landy depot, in Paris is the only place where TGV Mk1 (Méditerranée), TGV Mk2 (TGV Atlantique), TGV Mk3 (Eurostar) and TGV Mark 4 (Thalys) can be seen together.
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External links

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