‘Joint effort needed to save Eurostar’
The UK and French governments must make a joint commitment to support struggling Eurostar, the chairman of the Transport Select Committee has said.
Tory MP Huw Merriman said the cross-channel train operator plays a vital role in enabling low-carbon international travel.
Eurostar has been hit hard by thecoronaviruscrisis,witha95 per cent fall in passenger numbers. It is running just one daily train in each direction between Londonandparis,andbetween
London and Amsterdam via Brussels.
The firm, which operated more than 50 daily services before the pandemic, revealed innovemberitis"fightingforits survival".
Eurostar is 55 per cent owned by French state rail company Sncf.theukgovernmentsold itsstaketoprivatefirmsfor£757 million in 2015.
SNCF chief executive Jeanpierre Farandou told France Inter radio this week that "the situation is very critical for Eurostar".