Why 2024 could be another year to forget for Eurostar

Nobody could have foreseen the disastrously soggy end to 2023 that resulted in a flooded railway tunnel outside London forcing Eurostar to cancel its services in and out of the city on December 30, affecting an estimated 30,000 passengers. The train operator was already reeling from last-minute strike action by French Eurotunnel workers on December 21, which led to pre-Christmas travel chaos as passengers struggled to get home for the festivities.

It was what French newspaper Le Figaro deemed a “nightmarish end of the year” for Eurostar, which finally seemed to be finding its feet after the twin blows of Brexit and the pandemic. Following an emergency refinancing deal in 2021, the company’s 2023 merger with European operator Thalys offered a glimmer of hope. “As Eurostar Group we will be more resilient to external shocks in the future,” a spokesperson told The Telegraph at the time.

Although the new Eurostar Group reaches more destinations than it did a year ago, getting to them involves a change at Lille, Paris or Brussels for UK customers. Meanwhile, a direct service to Disneyland Paris has been removed from the timetable indefinitely, along with stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford International. Will 2024 – Eurostar’s 30th year – bring better news for British customers?

“Eurostar services will not stop at Ebbsfleet or Ashford International or go direct to Disney in 2024, and we cannot make any commitment for 2025,” a representative told The Telegraph. “Even though we are close to getting back on track, with 11 million passengers travelling with us on our cross-channel routes in 2023, we will continue to face the financial consequences of the pandemic for a number of years. Borders have also become more complex, and the expected launch of the EU’s Entry/Exit System invites us to caution. We are continuing to focus on our core routes, where demand is highest, and on stabilising our business, our operations and customer experience.”

Anticipating ETIAS

Given the issues already caused by post-Brexit border checks, rail expert Mark Smith of The Man in Seat Sixty-One believes the brand is right to be wary of Europe’s new regulations for third-party nationals, due to be implemented by the end of 2024. “There are still some peak trains that go out with empty seats because they can’t process everything at St Pancras,” he said. “The ETIAS travel authorisation scheme and Entry/Exit System are going to muck everything up again, potentially”.

Eurostar says it is preparing for the changes by investing in upgraded e-gates for Paris and London, as well as adding a new manual control booth and e-gates in Brussels. It also hopes to roll out use of Smartcheck, which allows customers to register their passports before getting to the station, in order to use facial recognition to speed up border controls.

On the right track?

One of the operator’s recent success stories was the launch of a direct route between London and Amsterdam in 2020. But one leg of the route will stall for six months from June 2024, because building works to upgrade Amsterdam Centraal station mean there won’t be enough space to facilitate security checks for British passengers returning to the UK. It’s a frustrating pause, although Eurostar hopes to increase train frequency once the work is finished.

The company reintroduced another popular service at the end of 2023. The much-loved ski train to the French Alps was cancelled in 2020, with the route taken over by Travelski, a tour operator that chartered trains so that British skiers could head to the slopes by rail between December and April.

For 2023/24, Eurostar reclaimed the route with a service destined for five Alpine stations and running until the beginning of February. However, unlike Travelski’s option (and Eurostar’s original service), Eurostar Snow involves a change at Lille for passengers – and all their ski paraphernalia. Even more frustratingly, anyone planning a ski trip after February 4 will need to book two separate train tickets and do a dash from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon for the onward journey from Paris.

“[The initial closure] affected the resorts down in the French Alps because it’s their livelihood, which is why they chartered a ski train,” said Smith. “But Eurostar didn’t want to play ball with that anymore, so now we’ve got this Eurostar/Thalys hybrid. It’s a great shame.”

Another of the group’s new routes (albeit with more changes) should be more of a people pleaser during 2024. England football fans will be able to head to Euro 2024 matches by train thanks to a service to Cologne and Dusseldorf via Brussels. Eurostar is also the official travel partner of The British Olympic Association and hopes to transport 1.7 million supporters to the Games via its Paris routes.

With no competitors on the London-Paris service, Eurostar should be able to maximise profits during the tournament – but that could change in the future. New operator Evolyn hopes to be running trains between London and Paris Nord as early as 2025, although experts believe that’s an optimistic target.

Sir Richard Branson also has his eye on the route, while Railtech reports that newly formed Dutch company Heuro wants to offer a service between London and Amsterdam by 2028, running up to 15 trains per day.

“That is madness,” says Jerry Alderson, a director of the campaigning organisation Rail Future. “Even in 20 years, they won’t build up to that number. The big problem is that St Pancras just doesn’t have capacity”.

Fare’s fair

If and when set-up issues are ironed out, Eurostar might need customer loyalty and affordable prices to help it retain passengers in the face of competition – so it would be wise to focus on a few issues in the interim. The operator recently got in hot water with the Advertising Standards Authority after a £39 summer fare deal sparked a customer complaint due to a perceived lack of available seats.

And although neither of the festive season disruptions were Eurostar’s fault, passengers used social media to bemoan a lack of customer service in the aftermath. A representative defended the brand: “On both days, when external factors caused a very challenging situation, customers were offered the option to exchange their tickets or receive a refund. Those who were stranded were supported with hotel and taxi compensation. Extra services were also arranged in the days following the incidents.”

However, the Rev Canon Dr Rob Marshall, whose train to Brussels was cancelled on December 30, was saddened to see families and elderly passengers stranded in a “seriously over-crowded” St Pancras.

“The commencement of the journey for a large number of Eurostar passengers is not London,” he said. “So huge amounts of time and money had already been spent arranging to be at St Pancras on time for their respective trains (on travel to London and hotels for early departures) and Eurostar treats them as ‘local passengers’ who just need to come back on another day. Most of them simply can’t. While the flood was not Eurostar’s fault, the complete failure of any comms strategy in terms of proactive information and empathy was appalling.”