Record passengers...record market share...record punctuality

Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service that links the UK with France and Belgium, is marking the start of its 10th birthday year with a record set of passenger, punctuality and market share figures. Eurostar will be 10 years old on Sunday 14th November.

Eurostar today confirmed that 641,957 passengers travelled in October - a record carrying for the month. In the first 10 months of this year, 6,046,455 million passengers had travelled on Eurostar, up 16.2% on the same period last year (5,203,357).

Expected sales in the first 10 months of 2004 were £364 million, up 16% on the same period last year (£315 million).

Eurostar’s share of the rail/air market has also increased. According to figures from the Civil Aviation Authority for August 2004, Eurostar had a market share of 68% on the London-Paris route and 63% on the London-Brussels route. The shares are the highest in Eurostar’s history. Passengers have been attracted to Eurostar by strong punctuality and reliability, and better standards of service than many airline competitors.

Punctuality in the first 10 months of 2004 was 89.2%, up 13% on the same period last year - the best-ever punctuality figures recorded for the period.

The figures confirm that Eurostar has seen a major transformation since the opening of the UK high-speed line, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, in September 2003.

In the last year, airline competitors have closed several of their services on the Paris and Brussels routes.

Paul Charles, Director of Communications, Eurostar, said: "It’s been a decade of incredible change with, arguably, a revolution in short-haul travel. Eurostar alone has carried nearly 60 million passengers over the last 10 years and, as high-speed rail expands in the UK after 2007, we are confident that this number will go on growing substantially."

The next 10 years will see many further improvements - the launch of the second section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the expected introduction of WI-FI technology on board, completion of the onboard refurbishment programme and, crucially, faster journey times between the UK, France and Belgium.

Market Share Statistics:

Lon-Paris carrier August 2004 August 2003
Eurostar                 67.99%           64.91%
Air France              11.17%           12.06%
British Airways      11.78%           13.59%
Bmi                            4.46%             4.56%
Easyjet                      4.38%             4.60%
Other                         0.23%              0.28%
Total                           100%               100%

Lon-Brussels carrier August 2004 August 2003
Eurostar                        63.34%           50.52%
British Airways             21.37%           21.29%
Bmi                                13.20%           10.69%
VLM                                  1.86%             2.32%
Ryanair                            0.00%           13.70%
Other                                0.23%             1.48%
Total                                 100%               100%

Data compiled using Civil Aviation Authority, UK and Eurostar figures for August 2003/4

Editor’s Notes:

1. Eurostar is the fast train service linking London, Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Avignon, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris and the French Alps.

2. Eurostar was named “Train Operator of the Year” at the National Rail Awards 2004; “World’s Leading Rail Service” in the 2003 World Travel Awards; “Best Rail Network” at the Business Travel World Awards 2004 and “Best Rail Operator” at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards 2004.

3. Eurostar and Eurotunnel are two different companies with two different management teams. Eurostar is Eurotunnel’s largest customer.

4. To book tickets for Eurostar, or to find out more information, go to www.eurostar.com , call 08705 186186 or contact your travel agent.