Eurostar said it was confident in the future of its business as customers opted for high-speed rail over short-haul flights for shorter European journeys. -- PHOTO: AFP
PARIS - EUROSTAR, the high-speed passenger train service linking Britain to mainland Europe, said ticket sales rose 10.9 per cent last year as it carried 10.3 per cent more passengers, though a fire in September held back growth.
The company added it was confident in the future of its business as customers opted for high-speed rail over short-haul flights for shorter European journeys.
'The short-term outlook for 2009 is challenging, but the long-term prospects for Eurostar and high-speed rail are very good,' Eurostar said in a statement on Tuesday.
Full-year ticket sales increased to 664 million pounds (S$1.48 billion) from 599 million in 2007, Eurostar said. The number of travellers hit a record 9.1 million.
Eurostar said the results would have been significantly stronger without the impact of a fire on board a Eurotunnel freight shuttle on Sept 11, which caused part of the Channel Tunnel linking England and France to be closed and which continues to reduce services and lengthen journey times.
'Sales were significantly affected by the Channel Tunnel incident from September onwards, whereas the subsequent economic downturn had little impact on the year as a whole,' Eurostar said.
Reduced tunnel access would continue to impact the first quarter of 2009 with a return to a full timetable seen in the early spring, Eurostar said. -- THOMSON REUTERS
