Eurostar turns 10 years old
LONDON, England -- Eurostar, the high-speed passenger services, is celebrating 10 years of service between Britain, France and Belgium.
But while passenger numbers have been rising, profits have been slow to catch up.
Eurostar -- run by the state railways of France, Belgium and privately-held London Continental Railways -- was launched November 14, 1994.
To mark the 10th anniversary, there were parties Sunday in London, Paris, Lille and Brussels.
On Monday, Eurostar said passenger numbers have jumped more than 16 percent to 6.05 million in the first 10 months of this year as it took business away from airlines.
It said sales during the same period were up 16 percent to £364 million ($677 million).
Eurostar says its trains are taking market share from airlines such as Ryanair and British Airways on both its London-Paris and London-Brussels routes.
"Eurostar alone has carried nearly 60 million passengers in that time and, as high-speed rail expands in the UK after 2007, we are confident that this number will go on growing substantially," Eurostar Director of Communications Paul Charles said in a statement.
However, the company is still operating in the red. Eurostar had a loss of nearly £42 million ($78 million) last year.
