Eurostar eyes new routes to Europe
Green transport news - by GreenWise staff
15th May 2012
The cross-Channel train operator Eurostar is looking to cement its reputation as the greenest option for short-haul international travel in Europe by adding up to 10 new destinations.
Eurostar is looking to develop new services from its base at St Pancras, London, into the Netherlands, Germany, southern France and Switzerland, according to a report in the
Financial Times. The new routes will be developed over the next five years and will directly compete with airlines that operate in those markets.
"By 2016 and 2017 we would like people when they are thinking about traveling to these cities to consider taking Eurostar rather than flying," Nicolas Petrovic, chief executive of Eurostar told the FT.
The new routes will include destinations such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Cologne, Marseille, Lyon and Geneva.
Increasing market share
A year ago, Eurostar announced it wanted to get 2.5 million people to switch from air to
rail by 2013. It recently announced it had increased passenger numbers by four per cent in the first quarter of 2012, to 2.24 million from 2.15 million in the same period last year.
A train journey produces 10 times less carbon than the equivalent flight and Eurostar is using the sustainable benefits of high-speed rail travel to tap into the 20 million people that take short-haul flights in Europe.
The company, which carries nearly 10 million passengers a year running fast-speed trains from London to Paris and Brussels, has already cut the carbon from passenger journeys by 25 per cent and aims to reduce emissions from its
operations and supply chain by 25 per cent by 2015.
Green travel
In a bid to show its commitment to green travel, Eurostar last year teamed up with the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy to reward the best green travel project in the three countries it operates across – with a £20,000 cash prize. The winner of the prize will be announced at the end of the month.
Eurostar’s expansion of its own services is being made possible due to the liberalisation of European rail markets.
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