Why did the UK sell Eurostar?

But the NAO report showed that Eurostar's profits were forecast to increase significantly from 2016, when new, higher-capacity trains will be brought into service. Although the government thought higher profits could increase the price tag, it decided to sell to avoid uncertainty and risks.



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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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The owners of Eurostar have agreed a £250 million bailout with shareholders in the London-Paris-Brussels Channel tunnel passenger train service. The funding gets the British taxpayer off the hook of what could have been an expensive and uncomfortable rescue.

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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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Strong cash generation has enabled Eurostar Group to repay €127m of debt and at the end of December 2022, total debt stood at €964m. We have turned the page on the COVID crisis and are now moving towards a new chapter of building the new Eurostar Group, bringing Eurostar and Thalys together”, says Gwendoline Cazenave.

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It depends which trains and what times you are looking at - Eurostar is very expensive in times of high demand because the cheap tickets get snapped up but can be relatively affordable if you choose less popular times.

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By 2018, 11 million journeys per year were being made – but two years later the pandemic struck and Eurostar came perilously close to closure. With demand shrinking by 95 per cent, the company struggled to stay afloat, in part due to a spider's web of governance that made it hard to access emergency funding.

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Eurostar will no longer operate its direct train service between London and Disneyland Paris from 5 June next year. The company said it wanted to focus on its core routes, including London - Paris and London - Brussels, as it recovers from the impact of the COVID pandemic and faces the consequences of Brexit.

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Well, they're not called high-speed trains for nothing. They can reach a top speed of 300 kilometres per hour (that's 186 miles per hour) on high-speed lines in the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

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Only 20 minutes of the Eurostar journey is in the tunnel, out of a 2h20 journey time.

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The accounts - for the year to Dec 31, 2021 - reveal the company racked up pre-tax losses of £305m as Covid continued to hamper travel. A spokesman for Eurostar said: “The business has continued to grow and rebuild throughout 2022.”

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Eurostar will not be able to operate in Amsterdam while the city's main train station undergoes renovations, according to the article. The route will be truncated to end in Brussels from June 2024 until May 2025, according to the plan.

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Eurostar is not registered as a carrier of pets and therefore, we're unfortunately unable to make any exceptions. We do, however, allow guide and assistance dogs to travel with their owners and request that customers contact us at least 48 hours in advance of travel to make a request.

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Unless you book well in advance, the cost of traveling to Paris on the Eurostar is more expensive than flying.

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Eurostar vs Flying: Journey Time A Eurostar from London to Paris takes about 2h 30m, whereas a flight takes circa one hour.

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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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