Guardian UK: Eurostar sees 21% increase in passengers

[marmar]

Eurostar sees 21% increase in passengers
Dan Milmo, transport correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Monday April 14 2008


Eurostar reported a 21.3% increase in passenger numbers today as the opening of St Pancras International station and debut of a £5.8bn high-speed link through south England lured more passengers to the cross-Channel train operator.

Eurostar said 2.17 million customers travelled between London, Paris and Brussels in the first three months of the year, an increase of more than 21.3% on the same period in 2007.

Nick Mercer, Eurostar's commercial director, said the service was benefiting from shorter journey times thanks to the high-speed link and more customers from around Britain due to the location of St Pancras, which is better connected to the UK rail network than the train operator's former base in Waterloo.

"The passenger increase is coming from shorter journey times, better punctuality and improved connectivity, particularly from the UK regions. We have seen a near doubling of passengers from places such as York and the east Midlands," he said.

Eurostar is embarking on a joint marketing campaign with Virgin Trains, East Midlands Trains and National Express East Coast this summer and will tour stations in cities including Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham to advertise deals such as £77 for a return trip from Sheffield to Paris, via St Pancras.

Mercer said around half the growth in passenger numbers came from new customers based north of London, with the rest taken from rival ferry operators and airlines. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/14/travelleisure.transport