Fleet & Safety

Fleet

Fleet

• Eurostar currently operates a fleet of 27 trains between the UK and France/Belgium. In addition, three Eurostar trains are being used on domestic services in France and a fourth is based in Belgium.
• Eurostar trains are 400 metres long and comprise 18 passenger carriages and two power cars. There are 750 seats on each train, almost equivalent to capacity levels of two 747 Boeing planes. Of the seats, 544 are in standard class and 206 in Business Premier and Leisure Select.
• The length of Eurostar trains cannot be reduced or extended depending on passenger loadings. Therefore load factor is not seen as a key indicator of Eurostar performance as it may be with airlines, which are able to deploy different sizes of aircraft.

Safety

• Eurostar has an excellent safety record with each of its trains having a number of safety features that make it one of the safest trains in the world.
• The fireproofing systems for safe transit through the Channel Tunnel are unique. These include the extensive use of fire resistant materials, heavy gauge insulation of cables and fire doors between each carriage.
• The driving cab features modern train protection systems, including the French automatic system TVM-430, which is used on High Speed 1. The UK standard TPWS system has been fitted.