Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007 - (Page 80)

HSL wins over the stresses of driving on busy roads or waiting to check in baggage. If Ebbsfleet means passengers can simply park and take the train, arrive at their destination and unwind with a drink, then they’re going to travel Eurostar. AND STRATFORD INTERNATIONAL? Stratford will provide domestic rail services to Kent when it opens in 2009. And Eurostar has targeted this station because it is close to the Canary Wharf area, a rapidly developing satellite of The City. So we expect the majority of Eurostar users at this station to be business commuters from Paris and Brussels. Plus, it allows us to compete with the nearby London City Airport (located in North Woolwich, south-east London, it provides domestic and international flights to destinations including Paris and Brussels). Stratford is also located bang in the middle of the new Olympic park site and Stratford City (project to develop rail lands into a new town, east of London). But seeing as it's currently surrounded by massive building works, we decided there's no point opening our Eurostar service here yet. For example, there are no direct pedestrian routes because of the construction going on, so if we were operating here, passengers from abroad are would arrive and say “how are we going to get out of this station?” And they probably wouldn’t repeat the experience. We don’t want to destroy our future market by launching too soon. Also this year, Eurostar will be available on GDS primary screen (travel agents’ booking screen. Eurostar has had a limited GDS presence in the U.S. since 2004). Amadeus [travel solution provider] is doing the development work for this. Until now, all the airlines have been present on this screen, but not Eurostar. So to book, travel agents have had to log out, then use a separate booking system. Putting Eurostar on GDS primary screen will mean it is more straightforward for agents to book Eurostar and compare rail-air journey prices. In late 2008, we plan to roll out a new ticketing system using barcode tickets with passengers printing them themselves. They will be rather like the swipe-and-go Oyster cards on the London Underground (a smart card with embedded, contactless chip that can be used for purchasing and storing tickets. Valid for use on the Underground, buses and trams), with the passenger swiping the barcode at the checkin gate. The next phase will be to put these barcode tickets on mobile phones. OFFERING HIGHER SPEEDS WILL DRIVE ACCESSIBILITY, WHICH IN TURN WILL BOOST REGIONAL AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Germany; NS and HSA - Netherlands; OBB Austria; SBB - Switzerland; SNCB - Belgium; SNCF - France). The RailTeam Alliance is studying signalling and ease of transfer between highspeed operators at hub stations, for example, Eurostar and Thalys. It is looking at ways of providing a single ticket for these journeys, rather than having to make two separate transactions when purchasing, as is currently the case. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? DOES THE UK NEED HIGH-SPEED RAIL? Yes, we are hoping it will take off in the UK when HS Line 1 opens in November. Highspeed drives development - you only have to look at the renovation work currently underway around St Pancras. And there is a need for high speed for journeys like London to Edinburgh, for example, which currently takes about four hours, or London to Newcastle or Manchester. Offering higher speeds will drive accessibility, which in turn will boost regional and national development. Take a country like France, with its network of TGV trains. This has spread economic development across the whole country, from Lille to Marseille, Strasbourg to Paris. And it could happen in the UK too. But the issue of the environment is at the heart of the high-speed debate in the UK. If the Government is serious about its global warming concerns, it needs to view high-speed rail as a viable alternative to short haul flights. Lesley Brown Ebbsfleet is located near Junction 2 of the M25 [orbital motorway around London], The nearest town is Dartford, and it is also close to the Bluewater Shopping Centre, It provides easy access for people in cars and is specifically targeted at this category of Eurostar passenger, because we realised that unlike airlines, we didn’t offer a park-and-ride option. And if we want to compete with airlines, this is clearly a must. People choose their mode of transport depending on the degree of personal convenience offered - I don’t think many people drive from London to Paris these days. We aim to offer a seamless, hassle-free experience that In 2007, we will enable Business Premier passengers to log onto our website www.eurostar.com - to view and select their seats on Eurostar. Because passengers, particularly regulars, are often fussy about where they sit. And we have the advantage of being able to offer various seating plans, such as facing or group seats. In a plane you have the choice of forward facing seats or forward facing seats. Previously, only travel agents offered passengers seating options when booking, but now they can choose for themselves. © EUROSTAR WHAT’S THE ROLE OF EBBSFLEET INTERNATIONAL? 80 Issue 15 EURAILmag Business & Technology ” © EUROSTAR http://www.eurostar.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

SOMMAIRE
NOTICE BOARD
COATINGS
NEWS
SERVICES
INFRASTRUCTURE
HIGH-SPEED LINES
TUNNELS
PEOPLE
ROLLING STOCK
WEBSITE DIRECTORY

Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

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