Eurostar believes concern for the environment helped it grow traveller numbers and revenues in the first six months of 2007.
Ticket sales between January and June totalled £295.7 million – an increase of 13.6% over the same period in 2006.
Traveller numbers grew by 4.8% to 3.91 million.
Eurostar said the strongest growth was among business travellers, the number rising by 13%.
It also reported strong growth in the sale of ‘connecting’ tickets, with sales to destinations across France up by 11.8% as more travellers chose to link up with high-speed TGV services.
Chief executive Richard Brown said: “The growth in traveller numbers clearly indicates that concerns about the environmental impact of short-haul air travel, combined with the worsening experience of flying, are prompting more people to look for a greener and easier way of travelling to the Continent.”
On November 13, Eurostar will switch overnight to its new London station, St Pancras International, cutting journey times by 20 minutes.
The first timetable for services from St Pancras was published today, and tickets for the last trains from Waterloo and first trains from St Pancras will go on sale on July 24.
By Bev Fearis
