Has Eurostar made a profit?

A little more than 17 years after the first Eurostar pulled out of London bound for Paris, the high-speed passenger train service has finally turned a profit. It could also mean the first return for the British taxpayer when Eurostar directors meet later this month to consider a dividend.



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For a few worrying months, with lockdowns in places and travel quarantines required for most, the high-speed train service was operating a single service a day to Paris and Brussels from London, provided mainly for key workers. In 2019, the last “normal” year of travel, Eurostar recorded a healthy £62.4m profit.

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Record Ebitda of €332m for merged Eurostar and Thalys business. HIGH-SPEED operator Eurostar Group, formed through the merger of Eurostar and Thalys in May 2022, has reported turnover of €1.53bn for 2022, two and half times higher than the figure for 2021.

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While the aviation industry remains in chaos with airports and airlines racking up billions of pounds of losses, the Channel Tunnel has returned to profit. Eurotunnel operates the sub-sea link between England and France, running Le Shuttle trains for cars and lorries.

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Sales 2022: €1,532 million • EBITDA: €332 million • 14.8 million passengers carried.

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Is Eurostar International a good company to work for? Eurostar International has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 170 reviews left anonymously by employees. 70% of employees would recommend working at Eurostar International to a friend and 55% have a positive outlook for the business.

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Financing Eurotunnel. Eurotunnel is the largest privately- financed infrastructure in history by a long way. In what it has achieved it has been a stunning success—in its current financial situation it is obviously also a failure at this stage if measured by return on investment.

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Eurotunnel is now highly profitable, after a difficult start when it was held down by massive debts from the tunnel construction. Debt restructuring in 2007 reversed the company's fortunes — at the expense of thousands of small shareholders who saw their holdings slashed in value.

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The group has debts of more than £6 billion and media reports suggest directors are keen on offering a debt-for-equity swap for as much as £2bn of the debt, UK national newspapers reported this week.

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But then, why has the Eurostar train company decided to stop the famous service, coveted by many British people? The company points out financial issues caused by the covid-19 pandemic and new logistics related to Brexit.

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Although the government thought higher profits could increase the price tag, it decided to sell to avoid uncertainty and risks. However, the timing was “primarily driven by the desire to sell prior to the 2015 general election”, said the NAO.

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The state-owned company's net profit of €2.4 billion is to be used to modernize the network and reduce the company's debt.

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Monopoly tunnel Eurostar has been the sole operator of passenger services on the line since its opening in the early 1990s, with these running between London and various destinations in Europe, including Paris.

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The tunnel does leak, but it is designed to. Seawater from the rocks above the tunnel drips through and is then pumped away.

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The cost of flights and car hire has significantly increased since the pandemic, making Eurotunnel a much cheaper way to travel to Europe, particularly for groups and families. If you have multiple people in your car it's likely to work out cheaper than flights.

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Eurostar trains are for foot passengers only, so are ideal if you don't need or want a vehicle for your trip. Eurotunnel Le Shuttle carries freight and all forms of vehicle, including cars, motorbikes, campervans, caravans, coaches and lorries.

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