Eurostar beats passenger records in 2014
Cross-Channel rail service Eurostar carried a record number of passengers in 2014 with the number of business travellers rising four per cent despite Europe’s economic problems. Total passenger numbers rose three per cent to 10.4 million, the company said on Wednesday.
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Eurostar’s turnover rose one per cent to 1.17 billion euros, a company statement said.
Operating profits rose two per cent to 75 million euros.
France’s state-owned rail company, SNCF, has a 55 per cent share of Eurostar, while the British government is currently trying to sell the 40 per cent share held by London & Continental Railways.
Bookings from London to Paris fell in January, apparently because of the Charlie Hebdo killings, but company boss Nicolas Petrovic said he hoped that the growth would continue in 2015.
A direct link to the southern French city of Marseille is to open on 1 May and new trains, built by Germany’s Siemens, will be put into operation at the end of the year.
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