French rail officials are warning that Eurostar, the train link between Britain and Europe, is dangerously close to financial collapse, and Brexit and Covid have given it a new one-two punch in just the past few days.
France's SNCF, the state railway company, is the majority owner of Eurostar. Christophe Fanichet, a senior SNCF executive told AFP last week that "The company is in a critical state, I'd even say very critical." The situation has worsened in the past few days with quarantines and test requirements instituted in both directions.
Eurostar's passenger numbers were down 85% in 2020 from the previous year, and London-Paris service, its heaviest route, is down to one train a day from as much as two per hour at peak times. While 2019 saw announcements of new service and new connections for Eurostar, including its first direct service between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and London, the pandemic and lockdowns this year have been a disaster for the service.
Eurostar's other owners include Belgium's state railway system (5%), Quebec's government investment bank (30%) and a U.S. investment firm (10%). The 40% they hold originally belonged to the UK government, which sold it off in 2015.
Comments (0)