Eurostar reports continued strong growth

Eurostar, the high speed passenger rail service between the UK and mainland Europe, has reported continued strong growth in the first half of 2011. Overall sales revenues increased by 4% from £404 million to £421 million and passenger numbers went up by 3% from 4.6 million to 4.7 million.

This year-on-year growth is particularly strong given that in the first half of 2010 Eurostar benefited from increased sales revenues resulting from the ash cloud disruption, during which it ran 70 extra trains and carried 100,000 extra passengers. Excluding the positive impact of the ash cloud disruption on the 2010 figures, underlying H1 2011 sales revenues in fact grew by 12% in comparison with the same period last year.

Eurostar is reporting over the first half of the year, leisure sales revenues grew by 8% and leisure passenger volumes were up 4%.

Demand for bookings over the summer period is high and over 950,000 passengers travelled on Eurostar in July alone making this a bumper summer for high speed rail travel. As a result, over 20 extra services have been scheduled to run over the summer.

Whilst Eurostar has reported a rise in the overall number of passengers over the last six months, there has been a particular spike in the volume of international travellers.

Over the first half of the year the number of international passengers rose by 21% to over half a million travellers. This was driven in part by a strong increase in passengers originating from the US who increasingly see a trip on Eurostar as an integral part of a European tour.

Nicolas Petrovic, CEO of Eurostar, commented: "The growth in the number of travellers heading for London earlier in the year has gathered momentum and in the first half international bookings have gone up by over 20 per cent. With 'Royal Wedding fever', London 2012 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on the horizon, London is highly attractive and remains a 'hot' destination for international visitors."

In the first quarter of 2011 Eurostar saw a 9% rise in Business Premier sales revenues and this strong performance continued through the first six months of the year.

This uplift is a reflection of the high levels of transactions and activity among businesses operating between the UK and the continent, particularly the financial services sector.

Nicolas Petrovic continued: "Over the last six months we have introduced a range of upgrades to our business premier service including guaranteed boarding, new Alain Roux menus and on board taxi booking to ensure that passengers' time on board is as enjoyable and productive as possible."

Eurostar to boost service levels

Eurostar will be changing its branding and introducing new service enhancements for its travellers, with Eurostar wishing to reflect its plans and ambitions for the business in the future.

Over the last few years Eurostar has seen a big increase in the number of passengers choosing to connect through Lille, Brussels and Paris Gare du Nord to other destinations. This has been driven by shorter journey times and the growing desire among customers to travel in an environmentally responsible, sustainable way.

Whereas in the past Eurostar was an unincorporated partnership of three railways its business was transformed last year into one single corporate entity. Eurostar is no longer just operating in three markets - UK, France and Belgium - and its ambition is to broaden its reach and encourage customers to ditch the plane and travel further into Europe by high speed rail. Eurostar is looking to expand its horizons to the South of France, Germany and the Netherlands. To mark the start of this new chapter and signal the change within the business Eurostar has developed a new identity.

The new logo was given a lot of thought, as Eurostar are aware how much travellers like its logo. This change was researched extensively to ensure that it captures the key characteristics of Eurostar and creates an identity that signals the next phase of the business.

The new branding will be rolled out gradually over the coming weeks and months. The first changes will take place on the Eurostar website and on travel tickets, with it then moving on to logos within stations and on trains.

Over the coming months Business Premier customers will see a number of enhancements to the Eurostar service based on business customers' feedback. These include guaranteed boarding, menus from Alain Roux and an onboard taxi booking service.

Eurostar leisure customers will also see a number of improvements. Eurostar staff have expert knowledge about the destinations and want to use that expertise to enhance the overall experience for the customers. To ensure that leisure customers get the most out of their trip, Eurostar is forging partnerships across cities which ensure that its travellers get the most out of their leisure time at no extra cost – be it art, music, sport, gastronomy or shopping.

The Eurostar Plus initiative, for example, gives customers 'two for the price of one' entry to the leading galleries and museums in London, Paris and Brussels and has recently struck a deal with Jamie Oliver whereby customers travelling from the continent can get a 15% discount at his '15' restaurant in London.

Eurostar will also be upgrading its fleet and purchasing 10 new trainsets which complement its existing fleet.