A Eurostar train running through London suburbs on the third-rail electric supply
Eurostar is a train service that connects London with Paris and Brussels. Trains cross the English Channel through the Channel Tunnel. The French and Belgian sections of the route use the same high-speed rail lines as the TGV and Thalys, and the British section is currently being replaced with a new line built to the same standard.
The journey time from London to Paris is currently 2 hours 35 minutes; London to Brussels is 2 hours 20 minutes. These times will be cut by 20 minutes in 2007 when the construction of the second phase of Channel Tunnel Rail Link is completed, bringing the British portion of the line up to the same standards as the French and Belgian sections.
In addition to the three destination cities, some Eurostar services currently stop en route at Ashford in Kent and Lille in northern France. From 2007 all Eurostar trains will be routed through the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to a new London terminus at St Pancras. (The company had intended to retain some services to the existing Waterloo terminal, but this was ruled out on cost grounds.) Some trains will additionally serve a new station at Stratford in east London.
Eurostar, which began services in November 1994, is a joint venture between Belgian, French and British railway companies. The Eurostar service has established a dominant share of the market for travellers on the routes it serves - 68% for London-Paris and 63% for London-Brussels as of November 2004. The company points out that these passengers represent a potential saving of 393,000 carbon dioxide-producing short-haul flights.
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The trains themselves are 400 metres long, weigh 800 tonnes and carry 750 passengers. They are classifed as Class 373 units, and were constructed by GEC-Alsthom (now Alstom). They can run on third rail and various catenary voltages, achieving a maximum in-service speed of 300 km/h when collecting current from the overhead catenary. They are essentially modified TGV sets, and some Eurostar trains not needed for Channel runs are now used in regular TGV service by the French national railway. In July 2003 a Eurostar train set a new UK rail speed record of 334.7 km/h during safety testing on the first section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
The 27 normal Eurostar-sets are being refurbished with a new interior , designed by Philippe Starck from September 2004 on. The grey-yellow look (in Standard class) and the grey-red look (In First/Premium First) has been replaced with a more grey-brown look, in both classes.
The border between France and the UK is in the middle of the tunnel. On entering the UK, British Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) staff may be seen on the train, although immigration formalities are carried out at the station of departure.
GNER White Rose train at King's Cross railway station
Eurostar also run services to Disneyland Paris, to Avignon in summer, and - in the skiing season - to Bourg St. Maurice, Aime la Plagne and Moutiers in the French Alps. It was originally intended to run 'regional Eurostars', direct services to Paris and Brussels from places in the United Kingdom other than London. This proved not to be financially viable, but some of the shorter Eurostar trains intended for those services are now operated by GNER (the Great North Eastern Railway) entirely within the UK, on the East Coast Main Line from London's King's Cross railway station to Leeds. 'Nightstar' sleeper trains constructed for the international service were also never used, and the trains were sold to VIA Rail in Canada who have branded them as Renaissance Cars [1] (http://www.viarail.ca/classes/en_serv_visi_renai.html).
Italian high-speed direct trains run by Trenitalia on RFI tracks are also called Eurostar. They use ETR-500 material. These have no connection with the trains running through the Channel Tunnel – to distinguish the two services, the Italian trains are sometimes referred to as Eurostar Italia.
Eurotunnel is the company that built and runs the Channel Tunnel, and is a completely separate entity.
Eurostar is a train service that connects London (Waterloo station) with Paris (Gare du Nord), Lille and Brussels (Gare du Midi).
The station is being rebuilt and extended to cope with the trains, and the area around it is being redeveloped as King's Cross Central.
Regional Eurostar 3313/14 is named "Entente Cordiale", and, as well as holding the current UK rail-speed record, has seen use as a VIP charter train, transporting the Queen on a state visit to France and to the Entente Cordiale anniversary in 2004.
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