Industrial action on Belgian railways forces the cancellation of all Eurostar services between the UK and Brussels on Thursday 5 November 2009

A modified timetable will operate between the UK and Lille

Due to industrial action in Belgium, Eurostar will be unable to operate any services between the UK and Brussels on Thursday 5 November 2009. A 24-hour general strike in Belgium will commence at 22h00 (CET) on Wednesday 4 November 2009 and will end at 22h00 (CET) on Thursday 5 November.

The industrial action will mean that Brussels Midi station and the rest of the Belgian rail network will be closed. This means there will be no rail services operating between Lille and Brussels Midi station. There will also be no high-speed onward rail connections on Thalys or ICE, from Brussels to destinations in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Eurostar is therefore advising all passengers travelling between the UK and Brussels and to onward destinations in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands that they should change their travel plans, and exchange their tickets for alternative dates or obtain refunds by contacting their original point of sale.

For passengers travelling between the UK and Lille there will be a modified timetable operating on 5 November. Travellers should check-in as normal and they will be accommodated on the next available service. This is because Lille is served by trains on the London - Brussels route.

For more information visit www.eurostar.com or contact the Eurostar Contact Centre on 08705 186 186.

On Wednesday 4 November, the London to Brussels the 19h34 (train 9158) will terminate at Lille. Travellers for Brussels on this train should make arrangements to travel on an earlier Eurostar service to Brussels. The last service to Brussels on this day will be the 18h34 (train 9154).

On Thursday 5 November, ONLY the 19h30 (train 9158) service from London will operate through to Brussels via Lille, on the assumption that the Belgian high-speed line will re-open at 22h00 (CET). The availability of tickets on this train is extremely limited.

Eurostar services between the UK and Paris will operate a near normal service with some services having an additional stop at Lille. Services between London / Ashford and Disneyland Resort Paris will operate normally.

Eurostar will resume normal services on Friday 6 November.

***ENDS***
 
 
Note to editors:

1. Eurostar started operating high-speed passenger train services directly linking the UK to France and Belgium, on the 14th November 1994.
 
2. Since Eurostar returned to full service in February 2009, punctuality levels have remained high with 95% of trains arriving on time.
 
3. Eurostar is a joint venture of SNCF (French Railways), Eurostar UK Ltd (owned by London & Continental Railways) and SNCB (Belgian Railways). It provides high-speed rail journeys between St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps.
 
4. Eurostar connects with domestic services in the UK and provides onward connections to destinations across mainland Europe. Travellers can buy connecting fares to the Continent from more than 200 stations with return fares from £63, including Brighton from £71 and Edinburgh from £92. Eurostar’s lead-in fare of £59 return from London to Brussels and Paris has gone unchanged for more than six years.
 
5. Under its Tread Lightly environmental plan, Eurostar has set a target of reducing its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 35% per traveller journey by 2012. Because emissions cannot yet be eliminated, Eurostar is also the world’s first train operator to make all journeys carbon neutral, at no extra cost to travellers. Research commissioned by Eurostar in 2006 and repeated in 2009 has shown that a Eurostar journey between London and Paris/Brussels generates just one-tenth of the CO2 of an equivalent flight.
 
6. Eurostar and Friends of the Earth are working together in the UK on Eurostar’s Tread Lightly initiative and Friends of the Earth’s climate campaign. To find out more about Friends of the Earth visit www.friendsoftheearth.co.uk.
 
7. Eurostar is a founder member of Railteam, a partnership between Europe’s leading high-speed train operators that is developing simpler ways to book and travel on the fast-expanding, European high-speed rail network.
 
8. Eurostar is an entirely separate business from Eurotunnel.  Eurostar operates high-speed passenger trains, whilst Eurotunnel operates vehicle shuttle services and the Channel Tunnel itself. Eurostar is Eurotunnel’s biggest customer.

 
 
For more information contact:
 
Eurostar Press Office
Eurostar
t:0044 (0)20 7843 5500
e:press.office@eurostar.co.uk 

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