Eurostar and competition

[leshuttle]

Out of interest what are people's views here on Eurostar facing direct competition at some point in the future like DB? Do they have room for improvement or are they offering a good enough service as it is? Will the competition last or fail to gain customers; perhaps with lower pricing, different destinations or greater frequencies?

As an aside: Are we well enough connected to €uroland via the Tunnel, or could it be used more for regional IC-type services to link intermediate stations better?

I'm personally of the view that competition on the route will be beneficial overall provided that the playing ground is kept fair and Joe public is made sufficiently aware of the choices in addition to Eurostar :roll:.

 

[johnnychips]

Never had a problem with Eurostar, and when there have been delays they have contacted me to offer compensation rather than vv. Like the trains, even though they're a bit old. Having said that, never been in one of these major delays due to weather. It might be nice for an extension beyond Brussels, though, whether offered by Eurostar or another company. Though heaven knows what would happen over immigration checks.

 

[Yew]

I wouldnt say eurostars are old. maybe getting in need of a new colour scheme. Gray is so 90's, just look at IC225's before their refurb.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Amsterdam & Cologne would be good additional destinations. Are there enough platforms at STP for additional services (E* and DB)?

 

[Mike395]

I believe the plan is for DB to run some of their services from Stratford Int'l to relieve capacity issues at St Pancras

 

[leshuttle]

I believe the plan is for DB to run some of their services from Stratford Int'l to relieve capacity issues at St Pancras

Hope so, otherwise I think they should seriously consider renaming that station . Would also be good if Ashford (Int'l) could see more international trains than current.

 

[317666]

Personally I think it's good to have competition. Eurostar generally do a good job running the current services but it's nice to have alternative options. Hopefully competition will drive fares down but that's just wishful thinking on my part!

On a similar note, haven't TrenItalia expressed an interest in eventually running a through London - Italy service once their new high speed trains are up and running?

 

[radamfi]

99% of the issues regarding running international service to other new destinations is with immigration and the severe restrictions imposed by UKBA on international trains setting down on the continent before reaching the UK (e.g. Lille Loophole). These don't look like being resolved any time soon.

 

[High Dyke]

Hope so, otherwise I think they should seriously consider renaming that station . Would also be good if Ashford (Int'l) could see more international trains than current.

On that basis would a regional service, as suggested, be viable say: Stratford Intl - Ebbsfleet Intl - Ashford Intl - Lille - Paris / Bruxelles

 

[reb0118]

On that basis would a regional service, as suggested, be viable say: Stratford Intl - Ebbsfleet Intl - Ashford Intl - Lille Europe - Paris Nord / Brussel Zuid.

I think you would need to add in Calais Frethun & TGV Haute Picardie too.

Would this be feasible for a Regional Express service:-

London/Stratford ~ Ebbsfleet ~ Ashford ~ Calais ~ Lille ~ Mons ~ Charleroi ~ Namur ~ Liege ~ Aachen ~ Düren ~ Köln.

This train would leave the high speed line at the junction just south of Antoing and run on conventional track to Liege. With a 2hr frequency any border control could be done on the move between Calais & Ashford.

Just a thought.

 

[cgcenet]

I think you would need to add in Calais Frethun & TGV Haute Picardie too.

Agree on Calais Fréthun. But I think that if this fantasy inter-regional cross-Channel passenger rail service were to reach Paris, then a more useful intermediate stop between Lille and Paris would surely be Paris CDG Airport. It would have the interesting effect of making CDG the major international airport most easily reachable by public transport from Kent (and even parts of Sussex).

However, the current proposal for such a service has it terminating at Lille.

... any border control could be done on the move between Calais & Ashford.

Of course that is how it should be done. And the trains should be able to carry domestic passengers in both UK and France (in the UK, this would be integrated into the National Rail framework).

I would very much like to see this kind of train service. It would be, essentially, a 'traditional' train service across the Channel, rather than Eurostar's airline on rails. By that I mean a service that picks up and sets down passengers en route, rather than Eurostar's transporting nearly everyone from one terminal to another like an airline. Additionally, it would presumably be a largely 'walk-up, by a ticket and hop on' affair, instead of the pre-book-only, yield-managed regime operated by Eurostar. So it would attract commuters and short-distance ad-hoc travellers, neither group being served by the existing Eurostar service. Calais would become part of the London commuter belt.

Unfortunately, it is very unlikely to be viable at present due to the immigration regulations and the very high tunnel access fees (about 10× those of the Øresund Bridge).

 

[D365]

I think you would need to add in Calais Frethun & TGV Haute Picardie too.

Would this be feasible for a Regional Express service:-

London/Stratford ~ Ebbsfleet ~ Ashford ~ Calais ~ Lille ~ Mons ~ Charleroi ~ Namur ~ Liege ~ Aachen ~ Düren ~ Köln.

This train would leave the high speed line at the junction just south of Antoing and run on conventional track to Liege. With a 2hr frequency any border control could be done on the move between Calais & Ashford.

Just a thought.

Sounds like the old Transmanche Metro? But on a larger scale. And how would border control work exactly? Hmm...

 

[cgcenet]

Sounds like the old Transmanche Metro? But on a larger scale. And how would border control work exactly? Hmm...

Border control issues have been mentioned. As stated in the quote they could be done on the train, the way they were in pre-Schengen mainland Europe. If it weren't for the absurd insistence on airport-style check-in, and the restrictions on intermediate stops (including the complete prohibition on carrying UK domestic passengers), we would likely have cross-channel passenger trains running from and to a much wider range of destinations than at present, and with something like a traditional service pattern of fast services interleaved with semi-fast.