Eurostar’s future in serious jeopardy

THE head of France’s state rail company has sounded the alarm over the future of Eurostar.

The cross-Channel train service has been hurt badly by a lack of travel during the coronavirus pandemic as well as Brexit.

Jean-Pierre Farandou, the chief executive of SNCF, which owns 55% of Eurostar, told France Inter radio that “the situation is very critical for Eurostar”.

Passenger numbers on the service that reaches the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands have been down by 95% since March and are currently believed to be less than 1% of pre-pandemic levels.

The warning comes days after UK business leaders called for a Government rescue of the Channel Tunnel rail operator as border closures enforced to stop a highly contagious virus variant threatened to push the service towards the brink of collapse.

Mr Farandou said yesterday: “Today, there is one round trip that runs between London and Paris, and one other that runs between London and BrusselsAmsterdam – and these trains are 10% full.”

Eurostar said in a statement that its situation was “very serious”. It added: “Without additional funding from government, there is a real risk to the survival of Eurostar, the green gateway to Europe.”