Train companies looking to provide a new high-speed rail link between London and Bordeaux must ensure proper scheduling to ensure the route is a success.
The advice came from Kate Andrews, co-founder and chief operating officer of train ticket search and booking engine Loco2, after rail operators yesterday confirmed plans for a direct service taking less than five hours.
HS1 Ltd, owner and operator of the High Speed 1 UK rail line between St Pancras in London and the Channel Tunnel, confirmed yesterday that it is in advanced planning with three other international railway operators along the proposed route to Bordeaux.
The international service would cut journey times through a direct route and security controls in Bordeaux.
This would allow a future train operator to take on low cost airlines which currently fly 1.2 million passengers a year between the two cities.
High-speed international trains will be capable of reaching speeds of up to 200mph on the proposed route, bypassing Paris and travelling on a newly completed 302km French high-speed rail line linking Tours with Bordeaux.
The new service will be direct, with no need to change trains and will offer a journey time of less than five hours. The current London to Bordeaux journey is 5 hours 25 minutes and Bordeaux to London of 6 hours 26 minutes.
While welcoming the initiative, Andrews said: “Whichever operator takes on this route, it should be careful to learn from the lessons of TGV Lyria’s Lille-Geneva direct route that was launched in 2015 and axed just a year later.
“Although this service ran only to Lille, rather than continuing on to London, there were good connections tailored to Eurostar passengers travelling to/from the UK.
“It fell down, in part because it was scheduled to run just four times per week, instead of every day, and subsequently failed to get onto the radar of travellers.
“Any London-Bordeaux operator should carefully consider scheduling and seasonality to make a real success of this fantastic opportunity.
“If operators can strike a deal to make the border and customs process less tedious on the return journey, this has the potential to become an exceptional way to visit the wine capital of the world.”
She added: “With the direct service to Amsterdam launching in early April, the obvious next step is for Eurostar – or another operator – to build new connections to other popular destinations for British travellers and holidaymakers.
“The convenience of a direct train is a huge incentive for first-time international train travellers, young families and seniors – many of whom are put off by journeys that include changing trains in Paris.
“Many of these travellers currently opt to take the London-Lille route to bypass the French capital but for destinations in France’s south-west, that usually means a longer journey.
“Since 2017, Bordeaux is just over two hours away from the French capital, with trains almost every hour in both directions. Linking this recently renovated high-speed line with London is a progressive and innovative approach from international rail operators that will soon make it even easier for passengers to get from A to B.”