Eurostar new e320/e300 class

[ItchyRsole]

There's also more luggage storage area in a 373. Without the storage areas in coaches 9&10 on the 373 it's going to be interesting to see how large groups are dealt with that currently tend to get all of their luggage put in the aforesaid space.

To add to that, Eurodespatch will come up prior to general boarding & load the luggage racks with pre booked group baggage & paid for items, leaving the remaining space for potentially 900 odd passengers.

 

[Phil.]

I foresee difficulties.......

 

[phil1960]

Basically as more and more e320 sets (& refurbished e300) ones come in, the general concept is that the public won't know when selecting their train from the website screen what the type of trainset will be. Only once it is booked you'll know as carriage layouts are different.

However travel agencies (& Eurostar call centre agents) will see more. So if you are keen to to book on one of the e320 sets then phone in or book via a knowledgeable travel agency.

More info here:

http://www.eurostar4agents.com/whatsnew/newfleet/faq.htm

Phil

 

[ItchyRsole]

Basically as more and more e320 sets (& refurbished e300) ones come in, the general concept is that the public won't know when selecting their train from the website screen what the type of trainset will be. Only once it is booked you'll know as carriage layouts are different.

However travel agencies (& Eurostar call centre agents) will see more. So if you are keen to to book on one of the e320 sets then phone in or book via a knowledgeable travel agency.

More info here:

http://www.eurostar4agents.com/whatsnew/newfleet/faq.htm

Phil

Taking into account a set can fail at any time & you could be straight back on a TMST

 

[stut]

So an e300 has the same layout as a 'classic' Eurostar?

That certainly wasn't the case when I went on one - my solo seat had become a 'duo vis a vis', and several people's table seats had become airline! Unless the formation of some of the e300s is slightly quirky at this point in time...

 

[phil1960]

So an e300 has the same layout as a 'classic' Eurostar?

That certainly wasn't the case when I went on one - my solo seat had become a 'duo vis a vis', and several people's table seats had become airline! Unless the formation of some of the e300s is slightly quirky at this point in time...

The layouts are different in some coaches of the refurbished (e300) to the classic sets (TMST). Details here:

http://www.seat61.com/London-to-Paris-by-train.htm#refurbished_e300_trains

Phil

 

[Phil.]

The amount of seats in the individual coaches of a 374 is greater than a 373. Now, if a 373 fails in the station pre-boarding - or even during boarding, it's happened before - transferring the passengers to a 374 won't be much of a problem. People might not have the same seat but they will have a seat. But, if the situation is reversed and the 374 is damn near full then some people are going to have to be left behind. Oh dear. I'd like to think that Eurostar have a plan but I wouldn't hold out hope.

 

[All Line Rover]

How does one book one of the private compartments in coaches 3 or 14? Are these Standard Premier or Business Premier seats?

I like the fact that there are partition doors in most of the first class carriages, segmenting the seating into multiple small areas, keeping noise levels down and enhancing the feeling of privacy, particularly with there being so many solo seats.

 

[phil1960]

How does one book one of the private compartments in coaches 3 or 14? Are these Standard Premier or Business Premier seats?

I like the fact that there are partition doors in most of the first class carriages, segmenting the seating into multiple small areas, keeping noise levels down and enhancing the feeling of privacy, particularly with there being so many solo seats.

You would be better to phone Eurostar and request specific seating. The website doesn't allow that feature. However, once you have booked, you can go back in and change the seat with the manage bookings feature (subject to availability):

http://www.seat61.com/London-to-Paris-by-train.htm#Choosing_your_seat_on_Eurostar

Standard Premium & Business Premium coach allocations vary from one service to another depending on demand.

Phil

 

[JaJaWa]

Will customers know in advance which type of train they’ll be travelling on?
We won’t be advertising which type of train will be used for each timetabled journey. The reason for this is that a scheduled train can potentially be swapped at the last minute for operational reasons. So, as they do now, travellers are buying tickets by train time, not train type.
Don’t forget that the likelihood of travelling on an e320 or e300 will increase rapidly over the next two years with the introduction of more and more new trains. By the end of 2016, all trains on the London-Paris route will be e320s and by Q4 2017, 70% of trains on the London-Brussels route will be e320s and e300s. By March 2018, our entire fleet will be made up of new trains.

Am I reading this correctly: if I travel in 2017 and onwards between London and Paris then I will definitely be on a new Siemens train?

 

[SpacePhoenix]

By March 2018, our entire fleet will be made up of new trains.

Will some of the remaining 373s start to get scrapped fairly soon?

 

[JaJaWa]

Will some of the remaining 373s start to get scrapped fairly soon?

They're counting the 373s refurbished to e300s as "new trains"!

 

[Phil.]

How does one book one of the private compartments in coaches 3 or 14? Are these Standard Premier or Business Premier seats?

I like the fact that there are partition doors in most of the first class carriages, segmenting the seating into multiple small areas, keeping noise levels down and enhancing the feeling of privacy, particularly with there being so many solo seats.

Dunno but they're not that private. The "wall" between the compartment and the saloon is not a total block as there's an open space all the way around. A person sitting in the first seat behind could easily hear what's going on and being said. Bit risky if you fancied joining the going down down under club.

 

[ItchyRsole]

How does one book one of the private compartments in coaches 3 or 14? Are these Standard Premier or Business Premier seats?

I like the fact that there are partition doors in most of the first class carriages, segmenting the seating into multiple small areas, keeping noise levels down and enhancing the feeling of privacy, particularly with there being so many solo seats.

They are used for Carte Blanche Elite passengers who request them if the French police haven't already taken them.

 

[33Hz]

Am I reading this correctly: if I travel in 2017 and onwards between London and Paris then I will definitely be on a new Siemens train?

I still don't understand why they ordered an expensive multi-system train only to use it on the route that doesn't need that capability.

There will surely be a glut of 373s which can't be used on the new routes so do Eurostar then order more 374s?

 

[jopsuk]

They're using the initial 374s on the Paris trains as those are where they need to extra capacity. Also, they may be multi-system capable, but they need to get certification from each system. One at a time is easier!

 

[AlexNL]

The new trains will allow Eurostar to go wherever they want in Europe: Paris, Brussels, Marseille, Amsterdam... but they could go even further and extend their services to Geneva, Frankfurt or Berlin if they want to.

 

[cjmillsnun]

The new trains will allow Eurostar to go wherever they want in Europe: Paris, Brussels, Marseille, Amsterdam... but they could go even further and extend their services to Geneva, Frankfurt or Berlin if they want to.

Apart from the fact that all passengers would have to detrain somewhere for UK Immigration and Customs prior to leaving France.

 

[33Hz]

They're using the initial 374s on the Paris trains as those are where they need to extra capacity. Also, they may be multi-system capable, but they need to get certification from each system. One at a time is easier!

We know this, but once they are on the Paris route 100% they won't be take back off again.

They have spare paths, why not just run an extra 373 which provides the same capacity as 7x the new space in 374s?

The new trains will allow Eurostar to go wherever they want in Europe: Paris, Brussels, Marseille, Amsterdam... but they could go even further and extend their services to Geneva, Frankfurt or Berlin if they want to.

Not if they are taken up by Paris work...

Apart from the fact that all passengers would have to detrain somewhere for UK Immigration and Customs prior to leaving France.

Eurostar has a request out to the security industry to provide information on how to meet the security requirement in a way that doesn't require this.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There are a total of 17 of the 374s on order so far ( including those already delivered ) so there will be more than enough to allow them to cover most Paris diagrams and the proposed additional routes.

 

[33Hz]

Isn't the point though that they will have to cover all Paris diagrams? Surely if their aspirations are to run to Amsterdam and Germany they will need to cover Brussels diagrams?

They have spare trains and spare paths from the old fleet. Why not use them for what they are good at - running to France. Instead they blow €1bn on new trains when they are barely profitable and then use them to cover a route their existing not life expired fleet can run on. Seems crazy to me.

 

[AlexNL]

At this very moment the trains have not yet been homologated for running to Belgium or The Netherlands, so they can only carry passengers into France. Keeping that in mind, Eurostar can either keep their trains in the shed until they've been authorised, or they can use them to improve capacity on Paris bound services. Furthermore, this will allow their staff to get used to how to handle the new trains.

When homologation for Belgium and NL is finished, I am sure we'll see the e320's appear on some Brussels bound services.

 

[radamfi]

When homologation for Belgium and NL is finished, I am sure we'll see the e320's appear on some Brussels bound services.

Presumably that will be before next December, as there are meant to be Eurostars to Amsterdam by then?

 

[stut]

Presumably that will be before next December, as there are meant to be Eurostars to Amsterdam by then?

Will that be the E420?

Sorry, couldn't resist...

 

[phil1960]

Presumably that will be before next December, as there are meant to be Eurostars to Amsterdam by then?

The through Eurostar service to Amsterdam has been postponed until early 2017:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/102280/eurostar-amsterdam-service-delayed

Phil