Eurostar will expand its destinations – including three cities in Germany – after announcing a mrder.
The deal between the operator and French-Belgian high-speed operator Thalys has been approved by the European Commission, and will allow passengers to travel by rail to Germany.
Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund would all available stops in the newly formed Eurostar Group’s network.
The rail network plans to run between 5 different countries – the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
On top of the new locations, the network aim to bring passengers “improved schedules for quick connections” as well as more services including loyalty benefits that could give passengers access to personalised offers.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
Passengers from the UK who are planning to use this new train line may have to disembark at Brussels to go through passport control and then will have to catch a connecting train to their final destination.
This is because there is not yet border control services at the German train stations.
The project, dubbed “green speed” seeks to make European travel quicker and more sustainable.
Speaking on the environmental ambitions of the project, Guillaume Pepy, Chairman of SNCF, said: “The challenge of climate change and the demand for eco-responsible travel calls for an ambitious response.
“Bringing together the strengths of Eurostar and Thalys [is] a powerful response to this challenge. High speed is an opportunity for Europe, Europe an opportunity for high speed.”
SNCF is the majority owner of the new Eurostar Group.
Top Lifestyle Stories Today
Another main goal of the merger is to increase the network’s capacity. Currently it serves 18.5 million passengers annually but their ambitious goal is to increase that number to 30 million by 2030.
The increased capacity will further environmental goals, as a Eurostar trip could use up to 90% less carbon emissions.
Would you take the Eurostar from London to one of the new locations in Germany? Let us know in the comments.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
