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Further Useful Eurostar Information
Current intermediate stations are Ebbsfleet International in northwest Kent, Ashford International in southeast Kent, and Calais-Fréthun and Lille-Europe in northern France. However, since the opening of Ebbsfleet International, only three trains a day to Paris and one to Disneyland Paris stop at Ashford. No Brussels-bound trains now serve the station, meaning that to join Eurostar trains residents of Kent and Sussex must instead change at Lille for Brussels, or travel into London or drive to Ebbsfleet, significantly increasing journey times. These changes have been controversial within the affected communities, and a website has been set up by Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for the South East, Sharon Bowles, to campaign for more Ashford services. On 3 April 2007 a petition with 8,000 signatures was taken to London Waterloo calling for an EU enquiry into the impact of the reduced services from Ashford International.
Completion of High Speed 1 has allowed a significant increase in the potential number of Eurostar trains serving London. Capacity now exists for up to eight trains per hour to travel in each direction from London to Continental Europe, moving the bottleneck to the Channel Tunnel itself. Separation of Eurostar from UK domestic railway services through Kent means that its timetabling is now unaffected by peak-hour restrictions.
Eurostar is a member of the Amadeus CRS global distribution system, making its tickets available alongside those of airlines worldwide. From 18 December 2007 through-fares were made available from 68 UK towns and cities to Paris, Brussels and other destinations in France and Belgium.
Travelling by Eurostar is even more environmentally friendly emitting 10 times less CO2 emissions than the same journey by plane.
How to get the Cheapest Eurostar Fare
Due to the competition from no-frills airlines the cheapest return tickets on Eurostar are now even lower than they were when the service first launched in 1994. Back then tickets used to cost £95 for the cheapest reture fare on the London to Paris route. Now that fare has dropped to just £59. To get this great low fare you need to be very flexible about when you travelor book well in advance.
The Teligraph has come up with some great ways to get the cheapest fare. Here at Computicket we want you to get the cheapst fares possible, as Computicket is an official Affiliate partner of Eurostar all these tips for making great savings on Eurostar tickets can be booked online at Computicket. |
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Time your booking - Only a limited number of tickets are available on each train to Paris or Brussels at £59 return. Once those sell out, fares rise to £89, then £109 and so on (those to Paris rise slightly more steeply than those to Brussels).
The £59 fares sell out fastest for departures on Fridays and Sundays – you may need to book four months ahead (the maximum advance booking for these cities) to get the lowest fares at these times.
On other days of the week, departures before 10.30am and after 4pm also tend to book up quickly. So, if you can’t book months in advance, you get the best value by travelling midweek and during the middle of the day. The most efficient way to hunt for the lowest fares is to skip the “Book Online” button on the home page. Go instead to “Latest Deals” and scroll down to the button reading “Train tickets from £55”. This allows you to search for your tickets by price rather than by your departure date, and is much the quickest way to track down a bargain. Incidentally, the £55 referred to is a fare to Lille.
Restrictions apply - Note that on all but the highest price tickets there are restrictions on changes and refunds. For example, the £59 returns can’t be changed or refunded. If you need a flexible ticket, you will have to pay £309 return for a Standard Class return to Paris which you can change or refund.
Over-60s - Special fares are available for the over-60s. They can’t travel any more cheaply than £59 return, but some of the higher fares are discounted. However, to search for these rates, don’t use the search engine on the “Latest Deals” page – click on the “Book Online” button on the homepage instead.
Children and young people - Under-4s travel free with adults, but are not guaranteed a seat, so you may have to have them on your lap. For children under 12 there is a flat rate of £50 return. Those aged 12-25 can get returns from £49 – search in the same way as seniors, above. If you want to go partying overnight in Paris, or for a late dinner and all-night drinking in Brussels, night owls or clubbers can get a special-price return at £42 which is valid for travel on Saturdays for a departure at 4pm, returning before 10.30am the next day.
It pays to upgrade - If you are travelling for a treat, don’t overlook the Leisure Select option. You get a much more comfortable carriage, and the price includes breakfast or a three-course meal served at your seat, with wine or champagne. (You don’t however get access to the business class lounge at the station.) Leisure Select costs from £109 for a day return and £139 if you stay overnight.
Other destinations - While most fares quoted above are to Paris and Brussels, you can also travel non-stop to Calais, Lille and Avignon during the summer, and Moutiers and Bourg Saint Maurice in the winter, on the so-called Eurostar Ski Train, a direct service to the Alps. Eurostar can also book about 100 other destinations in France, Benelux and Germany with a change of train at Paris, Lille and Brussels. For other destinations in Europe, try a specialist agent such as Rail Europe or International Rail -
Click here to go to the Rail Europe Pageg(16934676)a(1547964))
Click Here to go to the International Rail Websiteg(16377978)a(1547964))
Eurostar High Speed Lines
HSL 1 - A significant improvement in journey times between London and Brussels occurred when a new Belgian high speed line, HSL 1, was opened on 14 December 1997. A further four-minuteimprovement for London-Brussels services was achieved in December 2006 with completion of a new 435m long Brussels South Viaduct. Linking the international platforms of Brussels-South train station with the high speed line, the viaduct separates Eurostar from local services.
An international Nightstar sleeper train service was also planned; these would have travelled along the same routes as Regional Eurostar, plus the Great Western Main Line to Cardiff. These were also deemed commercially unviable, and the scheme was abandoned; in 2000 the coaches were sold to VIA Rail in Canada.
High Speed 1 - The next major improvement came in September 2003 with the opening of the first section of the British high-speed line between the Channel Tunnel and Fawkham Junction in north Kent. London–Paris journey times were cut by around 21 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, and London-Brussels was reduced to 2 hours 20 minutes.
Shortly before the opening of the newly completed high speed line, two special runs took place. On 4 September 2007, a special record-breaking train left Paris Gare du Nord at 10:44 (09:44 BST) and reached London St Pancras in 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds. French driver Francis Queret took train-set 3223/24 through France, while Briton Neil Meare took control of the train passing through Kent. Transporting journalists and railway workers, the train was the first passenger-carrying arrival at the new St Pancras International station. The train passed through the new £100 million Ebbsfleet International station near Dartford in Kent on the way to St Pancras; both stations will provide direct services to the site of the 2012 Olympics at Stratford, London.
On 20 September 2007, Eurostar broke another record as it completed the journey from Brussels to London in 1 hour, 43 minutes. The train left Brussels-South Station at 10:05, and reached St Pancras International at 11:48.
From 30 October to early November 2007 Eurostar conducted an Integrated Volume Testing programme in which some 6000 members of the public were involved in passenger check-in, immigration control and departure trials, during which the 'passengers' each made three return journeys out of St Pancras to the entrance to the London tunnel. At 18:12 on 13 November 2007 the last Eurostar service left Waterloo International, and on 14 November commercial services began over the whole of the new High Speed 1 line.
The redeveloped St Pancras International station became the new London terminus for all Eurostar services; at a cost of £800 million this has been extensively rebuilt and extended in length to cope with the 394 m Eurostar trains. The first service left St Pancras at 11:06 for Brussels, with the first arrival from the same city pulling in at 11:09. The first train to Paris departed at 11:03.
The completion of High Speed 1 has brought the British part of Eurostar's route up to the same standards as the French and Belgian high-speed lines. Line speeds are 300 km/h, except within the tunnel sections where slower speeds apply for safety reasons. Non-stop journey times have been reduced by a further 20 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes for London-Paris and 1 hour 51 minutes London-Brussels.
About the Eurostar Train Fleet
The service is operated by a fleet of specially designed eighteen-carriage Class 373 trains which travel at up to 186 mph on a network of high-speed railway lines. Since the Eurostar service began in 1994, new lines have been built in Belgium (HSL 1) and Southern England (High Speed 1) to the same standards as the LGV Nord line originally used in France, enabling journey times to be progressively reduced. The two-stage High Speed 1 project was completed on November 14, 2007, when the London terminus of the Eurostar service transferred from Waterloo International to St Pancras International station.
Built from 1992 to 1996, the Eurostar fleet consists of 38 electric multiple unit trains, designated Class 373 in the United Kingdom and TGV373000 in France. There are two variants:
31 Three Capitals sets consisting of two power cars and 18 carriages. These trains are 394 metres long and can carry 750 passengers; 206 in first class, 544 in standard class.
7 shorter "North of London" trains which have 14 carriages and are 320m long. These sets have a capacity of 558 seats consisting of 114 first class, 444 standard, and were designed to operate the proposed Regional Eurostar services.
The trains are essentially modified TGV sets and can operate at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) on high-speed lines, and 160 km/h (100 mph) in the Channel Tunnel. Speed limits in the Channel Tunnel are dictated by air-resistance, energy (heat) dissipation and the need to fit in with other trains operating at slower speeds. The trains were designed with Channel Tunnel safety in mind, and consist of two independent "half-sets", each with its own power car. In the event of a serious fire on board while travelling through the Tunnel, the passengers would be transferred into the undamaged half of the train, which would then be detached from the damaged half and driven out of the tunnel to safety. If the undamaged part were the rear half of the train, this would be driven by the Chef du Train who is a fully authorised driver and occupies the rear driving cab while the train travels through the tunnel for this purpose.
In 2004–2005 the Three Capitals sets still in daily use for international services were refurbished with a new interior designed by Philippe Starck. The old grey-yellow scheme in Standard class and grey-red of First/Premium First were replaced with a new grey-brown look in Standard and grey-burnt orange in First class. Power points were added to seats in First class and coaches 1 and 18 in Standard class. Premium First class was renamed BusinessPremier.
As 27 of the 31 Three Capitals sets are sufficient to operate the service, four are currently used by SNCF for domestic services; one of these regularly operates the Paris-Lille shuttle.
Past Eurostar fleet
Eurostar has operated a number of other types in the past:
Class 37 - a diesel locomotive intended to operate sleeper services over non-electrified parts of the railway network in Britain. Eurostar retained three locomotives for the rescue of failed trains, route learning and driver training, but disposed of them when the new Temple Mills Depot opened in November 2007.
Class 73 - an electro-diesel locomotive used primarily to rescue failed trains. Eurostar operated two of these from its North Pole depot until 2007, when they were loaned to a pair of educational initiatives having become redundant following the move to Temple Mills. Class 92 - an electric locomotive intended to operate the sleeper services. Eurostar owned seven units of this class, which never saw service until they were sold in 2007 to Europorte 2. |
