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EUROSTAR plans to launch new services from London to Frankfurt and Geneva to meet the growing trade demand for more green, as it faces a long -term possibility to compete for its services via channels.
The Railways Group has revealed a plan to expand the main European financing centers, including new services from Amsterdam and Brussels to Geneva, with an unspecified timing for the “early thirties”.
Eurostar said last year that it aims to invest two million euros in 50 new trains, which expands its fleet to 67, but it has not yet confirmed the arrangement of trains. She said that the new services will be launched after providing trains.
To get more destinations that are provided in the service, the monopoly of railways needs to be approved to install the expensive and exhausting security infrastructure in Frankfurt and Genev.
The complexity of the crossing service means that although it was launched more than 30 years ago, Eurostar only travels to three main destinations from London: Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris.
“Until we see what trains they ask for, and when to be delivered, we cannot call these” plans “but more like mysterious ideas,” said John Worth, a cross -border rail consultant.
the Difficulties for operating international railways The travel also slowed down the lack of ability to the cross -channel line, mutual efforts to challenge the current services of Eurostar.
A total of 19.5 million customers traveled in Eurostar in 2024, an increase of about 5 percent over 2023, which was reinforced by the Paris Olympics. The Railways Group said that it carried a total of about 8 million passengers this year until the end of May, an increase of 6.4 percent of the same period in 2023. Corporate customer reservations reached 677,000 passengers, an increase of about 58 percent during the same period.
Geneva and Frankfurt were chosen as new destinations because they are “large financial centers (and) European cities” which “need to be connected” in London, as said by Jindoline Kaznaf, CEO of Eurostar.
Cazenave said that the number of business travelers carried by the railway operator is now “at the same level as it was by Covid.”
She said: “Among the company’s travelers, we see growth really due to the sustainability goals.” “Companies really want their employees to travel by train.”
The railway operator said that Deloitte and BCG are among the largest companies in Eurostar, as they encouraged employees to travel with railways as it was an alternative to helping to achieve sustainability.
The bank said that JPMorgan decided to locate the main trading center of the European Union in Paris in 2021 after Britain’s exit from the European Union, partly due to the comfort of the direct eurosar from London. She now has 1000 Paris employees – four times more than Britain’s exit from the European Union. He said he has no “railway first” policy, but employees were encouraged to choose the “sustainable way” of travel.
Eurostar estimated the time of traveling from London to Frankfurt and Jennv about five hours. It plans for four services per day to Frankfurt and three daily to Geneva.
Cazenave said: “We see more willingness to travel longer by train … 10 or 15 years ago people did not want to go more than three hours by train. This now has increased to four and moves about five hours.”
On the challenge of increasing competition, Cazenave said: “At the end of the day, the demand is huge.”
Additional reports by Elisheva Kissin
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