Sales growth through the trade is outstripping direct channels for Eurostar as the cross-channel rail operator celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Speakers at an event to mark the landmark in Brussels hailed trade and B2B partners’ support as they revealed growth through “indirect” channels in 2024 stands at 8%, compared to 5% overall.
Eurostar also used the event to confirm tickets would go on sale on Friday (November 15) for its reinstated Amsterdam-London direct service, which will resume in February 2025.
The service currently operates via Brussels due to redevelopment work being carried out at Amsterdam’s Centraal station, though London-Amsterdam direct services have been retained.
The company said it aimed to gradually reinstate volumes from Amsterdam in the first half of next year, as it moves to increase overall capacity across its network from 19 million currently to more than 30 million after 2030.
The operator is currently in negotiations to secure a supplier to provide up to 50 new trains to support the expansion.
Chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said Eurostar would also continue to develop partnerships with other rail operators and airlines, after becoming the first non-airline member of the SkyTeam alliance.
She said: “We are committed to growth to more than 30 million passengers and we will do this sustainability with a commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
“Growth is good for us, it is good for our partners and it is good for our planet, and wherever travellers land or arrive, we want them to know they can travel Europe with us.”
Speakers at the event also reiterated Eurostar’s readiness for the introduction of the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES), which is expected to be introduced in spring 2025 after being repeatedly pushed back.
Simon Lejeune, the operator’s chief safety and stations officer, said double the number of additional kiosks than originally envisaged had been installed at St Pancras station to process the additional requirements of the system, while the number of border agents had also doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Lejeune insisted customers would not be asked to arrive any earlier to travel when the system was introduced, and said Eurostar was lobbying to ensure a “progressive rather than big bang” roll-out.