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Business travellers fuel Eurostar growth
Increased business travellers and a record Easter saw Eurostar’s first quarter passenger numbers rise 5.5% on the same period last year.
The high speed Channel Tunnel train operator carried almost 1.7 million passengers in the three months generating sales of £116 million – a 10% increase year-on-year.
The company said: “Factors behind the growth included a large increase in business customers, a shift towards high-speed train travel rather than air for short-haul journeys and record sales over Easter.”
Eurostar hit record punctuality of 97.58% for performance over one week. Until the end of February, punctuality for the quarter was running at 91% but bad weather in south-east England and northern France hampered air and rail services, bringing the quarterly figure down to 83%, compared with 89% in the same period last year.
“This still compares with much lower punctuality rates for airline competitors operating on the London/Paris/Brussels routes,” Eurostar said.
Business passengers have been choosing Eurostar above airlines since the company re-focused its strategy last year, claimed director of communications Paul Charles.
He said: “Fast check-in, power sockets on board the refurbished trains in first class, comfortable business lounges and better punctuality have helped to attract more passengers.
“We will go on investing in our product – over half our trains have now been refurbished and we will be announcing further product changes later this year, which will benefit business and leisure passengers alike.”
Eurostar is to switch its operation from Waterloo to St Pancras in 2007, after the Channel Tunnel Rail Link has been completed. Journey times will be even faster with Brussels 1h53m away from London and Paris 2h15m.
Report by Phil Davies
Construction work at St. Pancras and along the Channel Tunnel Rail Link continues on schedule and as planned, Eurostar added.
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