Save-Eurostar.org

Monday, 8 June 2009
House of Lords
Railways: London and Continental Railways Ltd
Lord Adonis (Minister of State, Department for Transport; Labour) | Hansard source
I am today announcing a financial restructuring of London and Continental Railways Ltd (LCR). This is a further step toward this Government’s stated intention to complete the restructuring and sale of LCR and its assets, following the enactment last year of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill. The financial and operational restructuring of LCR’s interests in the high speed line to the Channel Tunnel and in Eurostar operations will establish these businesses on a commercial basis, with the aim of delivering the best return for the taxpayer from previous significant public investment.
As part of this restructuring LCR is transferring ownership of its finance subsidiaries, which together are liable for £5.169 billion of debt in the form of bonds and securitised notes, to the Government. This debt is already supported by a range of Government guarantees. Separately, the Government are purchasing, for a nominal sum, the shares of LCR, taking it into direct government ownership. The Government have held a special share in LCR since 1999 which has given them a wide range of controls over the company. LCR and its liabilities are already accounted to the public debt; consequently, there is no change to existing public borrowing requirements.
LCR owns HS1 Limited, the company which operates St. Pancras International Station and the high speed line to the Channel Tunnel. It also owns the UK’s interest in the Eurostar international joint venture and a range of property development interests.
These are successful businesses.
LCR managed the construction and commissioning of the new railway, St Pancras and the other stations, and the substantial associated land development and regeneration projects. It did so on time and within budget and remains the right vehicle and management to drive through the next phase of the High Speed 1 project.
High Speed 1 is Britain’s first high speed railway, and first new railway for over 100 years. It provides fast international connections and starting this year will see the introduction of high speed commuter services from Kent. It is an essential component of our rail capacity plans for London and the south-east and also of the Olympic transport network. It has the capacity and potential for freight, international and domestic service growth. Performance on the line currently averages at five seconds infrastructure delay per train—world-class standards.
Thanks to the opening of St Pancras and the new line, Eurostar last year carried a record number of passengers—over 9 million—a 10 per cent increase in passenger numbers. It has a market share of over 75 per cent on the London-Paris and London-Brussels routes. This success in attracting passengers away from short haul airlines has saved an estimated 40,000 tonnes of carbon over the past two years. It is the pre-eminent international passenger train operator.
This success has been enabled by substantial public investment, represented in the debt now held by LCR and its subsidiaries and which is already underwritten by the Government. The Government therefore want to see the taxpayer benefit from the value which has been created in these companies, as well as realising further benefits to passengers in terms of more and new products and services.
This was signalled in the Statement made by the then Secretary of State for Transport in March 2006 when he said:
“The Government’s objective will be to ensure continuing value for taxpayers’ money, including the successful delivery of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the continuing safe and efficient operation of Eurostar.”
On 14 May this year the Government received state aid clearance from the European Commission to undertake a financial restructuring of LCR. In announcing its approval, the Commission said:
“The operation notified by the United Kingdom involves public support mainly in the form of debt cancellation and puts in place a sustainable financial structure for the high-speed rail link…It will benefit competition and users in view of the forthcoming liberalisation of international passenger transport by rail in 2010.”
The Commission also said that it:
“…regarded positively the unbundling of operation and infrastructure activities and the future significant reduction of access charges.”
The purpose of the restructuring is to separate HS1 Limited and Eurostar from their past construction liabilities. This will enable HS1 Limited to charge a commercial rate for access to the line and thereby attract more trains and a wider choice of operators. Being charged a proper market rate also offers Eurostar the best chance to develop its customer products and services on a sustainable commercial basis. It is for this reason that the Government have taken separate ownership of the finance subsidiaries currently within LCR that hold these past liabilities. This recognises the existing underwriting by the Government of these debts and will see the cancellation of all the associated guarantees and future liabilities from the Government to LCR and its operating subsidiaries.
Doing so returns considerable value to LCR and its operating subsidiaries. The Government are determined that value accrues in full amount to the taxpayer. The simplest and most direct way of securing this is for the Government to take ownership of LCR, making comprehensive the extensive rights already held in the company by virtue of the Government’s existing special share.
With the completion of this restructuring, the next step will be to prepare for the sale of a long-term concession in High Speed 1, the value of which will be used towards offsetting the public investment made in the construction of the railway. It is the Government’s intention to proceed with the sale of this concession as soon as the necessary contractual and regulatory structures are put in place in support of the future operation of High Speed 1 independent of government and LCR and as and when market conditions allow.
In parallel, the Government are discussing the future of the Eurostar joint venture with our international partners in order to determine the best future strategy for the business: one that capitalises on past success; offers the best opportunity for sustainable future development; and properly reflects the full value of the UK contribution.
As well as leading these negotiations on the part of the Government, LCR will continue to manage the development of its substantial property interests, the value of which will be realised on a case-by-case basis, at a time which reflects the best balance of value and risk to the taxpayer.

Election time brings the usual debate about disillusionment with politics, voter apathy, protest vote, etc. For the people of Ashford, the choice is made easier with the presence of MEPs Peter Skinner and Sharon Bowles. Both have shown their commitment to the town through their consistent and active involvement in our Eurostar campaign.

They deserve the support of the people of Ashford at this crucial time.

Mary-Jo Mullarkey, Brussels

Tuesday 5th May
RailEurope, the ticketing site which belongs, I believe to SNCF, still says that our new direct service between Ashford and Brussels does not exist.
Many passengers hold to a conspiracy theory that Eurostar does not want to use Ashford. This plays right into their hands. Alternatively, is it incompetence on the part of SNCF?
If the professionals cannot cope with timetables, how can one expect passengers to?

Note: Rail Europe’s registered office is just 27 miles away in West Malling, Kent!

The Pheonix flies at Ashford 6th April, 2009
After 15 difficult and distressing months for many passengers, Eurostar has finally restored a direct service between Ashford and Brussels.
Last Friday, 3rd April, we counted 65 passengers detraining here.
What a triumph!
No publicity. (Why would one try to book a ticket on the Eurostar site if one is unaware that a service exists?)
No special offers. (Ebbsfleet had five months of two tickets for the price of one.)
Sites like RailEurope insisting that there is NO direct service. (If you have gone on to that site to book a European trip you are still convinced that Ashford has no Brussels service to offer you.)
It is now impossible to do a day trip to Ashford from Brussels and Lille and our one train per day outward bound does not stop at Lille either.
However, this crumb which we have gratefully received offers us hope.
As one business passenger (who regularly does three day trip per week) said “I am less stressed, I save hundreds of hours travelling time, I am happy and relaxed.”
And I, I have my husband for the entire glorious weekend.
Edith Robson

An open letter to Richard Brown
Having made over THIRTY attempts to book an Ashford-Brussels ticket on line, I phoned London (thankfully I was in the UK and not Brussels) and after listening to the problem, Customer Services said ‘delete your cookies.’
I shan’t waste everyone’s time with treacle scones and shortbread but will simply state that as I delete my entire Browsing History before I close down my computer, the problem, Mr Brown, lies with Eurostar’s cooking.
I shall merely admit that the system then worked.
However, following the spate of emails I have received in the last ten days I would ask the following questions.
How can you complain at the paucity of passengers on the train when you have not advertised the service? Here are two answers supplied by Customer Care team.
In answer to your question regarding not advertising the Ashford to Brussels train, there has been extensive media coverage of the opening of this service and more is planned in the coming weeks
“Whilst this service is likely to be initially loss-making, we will be actively supporting the Ashford - Brussels service with a series of marketing initiatives, designed to stimulate travel on this route.”

I hope that this will persuade you of our intention to publicise the route and we look forward to hopefully welcoming you on board again soon.
It might have been very thrifty of you to use the media coverage of the first train but there are still too many people who know nothing of its return. I didn’t see the coverage on the news and most folk in Brussels certainly wouldn’t.
How can passengers purchase tickets when the website refuses to let them do so?
How can you expect large numbers when passengers have only had a couple of weeks notice?
How can you expect passengers to afford tickets at the drop of a hat when they have already been on sale to London travellers for four months so the cheapest tickets have already gone?
How can you have the temerity to vaunt your membership of Rail Team when sites like SNCB and DB – the ones most commonly used in Belgium to book - say that there are no trains to or from Ashford?
Those espousing a conspiracy theory will say it is because of Eurostar’s desire to see Ashford fail. Others will see it simply as incompetence.
Isn’t time you sorted out single fares? When I managed to go on line to book, I was quoted a fare of £44.50 going out and £64.50 to return. Being unable to make the 16.59 train, I thought it would be possible to catch the EuroDisney by changing at Lille. However, you must then by single tickets each way. Suddenly I would have to pay £248.50 on the outward leg (the same train on which I could pay just £44.50 if I were buying a straightforward return.) and £20.00 plus £156 for the return BXL-Lille and Lille - Ashford.
Interestingly, your website allows you to book a normal return, changing at Lille on the way back if you choose the 15.09 BXL-Lille.
The result is that many passengers buy St Pancras returns and get on or off at the most convenient station. Then, of course they no longer figure AT ALL in the Ashford passenger numbers.
Your Customer Care team also give conflicting answers. One passenger has just emailed me:-
In the end I opted for a return ticket to St. P. as I cannot get to Ashford for the return train. I was told that I would be unable to get off at Ashford on the way from Bxl!This is contrary to answer 44 on your own website.
Very sadly, it seems that, intentionally or not, you are doing everything possible prolong misery and confusion for Ashford passengers.

Traveller Care

On 1st December, I returned from Brussels on the 6.59 changing at Lille - a mere three hour wait for your connection - a Paris train which stops at Ashford. Lille is one of the coldest stations I know with no heating in the waiting room only heated pillars on the concourse. It reminded me of St Pancras last December. I set off for a nearby hotel to have breakfast but that’s going to be rather expensive at €18 each time.

On the 4th, I had to drive to Ebbsfleet to give a package to a passenger who could pass it on to my husband in Paris. It was a day of torrential rain. The drive, which took an hour from Ashford, was terrifying; three lanes at 70mph all the way with especially poor visibility if you were anywhere near a lorry. I have always said that I could not face doing two return journeys like this each week.

The walk from open car park to station left me soaking, although I was not encumbered or slowed by a suitcase and therefore much quicker than I would have been normally. During the return to the car against the wind I was utterly drenched but whilst I could remove my dripping coat I had to drive all the way home in sopping trousers.

Is it any wonder people do not want to use Ebbsfleet? I keep meeting people who say ‘Nevermore’. But I am heart sorry for the folk who have no choice but to use it.

In Germany in March, there is a conference entitled ‘Changing the Culture in Public Transport: Moving from Production Industry to Service Provider in a Cost Conscious Business’. The UITP Secretary General says ”Public transport is a people’s business. . . . Effectiveness has to do with responding to customers’ needs and expectations.”

Do you think Eurostar might learn something from it? Or, as I fear, will they just continue

Eurostar celebrates first anniversary ‘double doorway’ in Kent - 19 November 2008

This article (Eurostar press release?) was published on easier.com, a travel website, on Eurostar celebrating their first anniversary at Ebbsfleet. We have taken the liberty to interject our questions or comments in bold.

Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train operator that links the UK with France and Belgium, today celebrates the first anniversary of operating twin stations in Kent, offering a double doorway from south east England to the Continent.

High-speed services from Ebbsfleet International in north Kent, close to Bluewater shopping centre, began at 05.38 on 19 November 2007, with regular 186mph trains to Brussels and Paris.

From being a place few had heard of, Ebbsfleet International station is now becoming well established across the south east, a catchment of 10 million potential Eurostar travellers, thanks to a series of innovative measures to put the new station on the map.
Q. Surely that figure must include London which has St Pancras station, or is Eurostar allowed to count the same potential customers twice?

These have included:

- A Eurostar shop at Bluewater that stayed open nearly three times longer than first planned and sold more than twice as many tickets as originally expected
Q. Naturally, but if you sell two tickets for the price of one, you have twice as many passengers?

Of course Eurostar representatives stated at the EU on 4th July 2007 that 60% of Ashford’s passengers would prefer to use Ebbsfleet. I find it difficult to believe that Ebbsfleet has seen 300,000 former Ashford passengers (not forgetting all of those drawn in by the advertising and two for the price of one offers). In which case, Eurostar has thrown away tens of thousands of customers.

- Sponsorship of the Blue Square Premier League team Ebbsfleet United FC, which then gained national media attention through its takeover by internet venture myfootballclub; and victory in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley in May 2008

- The launch – with London & Continental Railways and Land Securities – of an international competition to build the Ebbsfleet Landmark, as a beacon to further herald the regeneration of the Ebbsfleet Valley in north Kent

- A drive-in cinema over the August Bank Holiday to attract local residents, showing the classic films ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ which both feature Eurostar’s destination of Paris

- A regional TV advertising campaign to highlight the journey time proximity of Ebbsfleet International to the centres of Brussels and Paris

Around 90% of all Ebbsfleet International travellers now originate from the South East region including Essex, Greater London, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex, with some 38% from Kent itself.

The proportion of travellers from Essex has steadily increased to 15% as a result of marketing, advertising and PR activity targeting the county. It appears that perceptions of the Thames as a barrier to Kent are being broken down by the closeness and convenience of high-speed rail access to the Continent via Ebbsfleet International.

At Ashford International the number of travellers catching the daily service to Disneyland Resort Paris has increased by just over 8% since the opening of High Speed 1.
Granted, but both businesses and international commuters who allocated to this part of Kent from here in the UK, or more importantly from Europe or further afield where not thinking of visiting Disneyland to conduct their meetings!

Eurostar’s Director of Communications, Simon Montague, said: “We’ve faced a tough challenge to put Ebbsfleet International on the map, and we’re really pleased that the name is now becoming well-known.
Except of course that Ashford’s passenger numbers were a result of people wanting to use the service from Ashford. Ashford International never had the shop, the football team, the £2million piece of artwork, the drive-in cinema etc etc.and the multi-million pound advertising on TV.

“In many ways it is the same challenge that faced Eurostar when Ashford International first opened in 1996. We are committed to both our Kent stations, and the significant growth on the London - Brussels route has also enabled us to plan the reintroduction of a direct Ashford - Brussels service next year.”
These were planned for December 2008. People have already purchased tickets. BUT the return connection via Lille has disappeared. The 21.01 from Brussels has been stopping at Ashford but you are not allowed to book a ticket to Ashford. Why not? Why could this train not continue to stop here until the new service starts? What a good PR exercise that would be, to allow passengers to travel to the destination they want to go to.

Ebbsfleet International was officially opened on 29 January 2008 by Dame Kelly Holmes MBE and the advertising and marketing campaign to put the station on the map began soon after. Marketing activity focussing on further raising awareness of both Kent stations across the south east will continue in 2009.

Eurostar now employs over 450 people in Kent, either directly or indirectly at the two stations, the UK Contact Centre based in Ashford, and its station retailers and security contractor.
Q. And will Ashford continue to be an afterthought in small print? Three different sources have said that the call centre was told last year not to sell Ashford tickets around the Christmas period. People will continue to think that there has been a dirty tricks campaign to downgrade Ashford unless this can be refuted.

The 15,000 signature petition was denigrated. The passenger survey of passengers was disregarded. You can’t force all of the people to do something they don’t want to do especially if they have had better service elsewhere. It’s obvious that many people have voted with their feet and either doesn’t travel, drive or fly.

When most of Ashford’s trains were taken last year, and effectively given to Ebbsfleet, we were told that it was a “COMMERCIAL DECISION”. My contention is that it was a disastrous decision.

Thurs 6th Oct
“The early train from Ebbsfleet to Brussels has been dropped. It will speed through from St Pancras since, they tell me, there is no slot through the tunnel available. This now means that most people will only arrive at their office/meeting in Brussels at 11.00 in the morning, which is hopeless and will certainly force me to have to fly in some cases”.

Comment: - the other explanation offered was that it was essential that people arrived in Brussels by 9.00am.
Last year, Richard Brown said that 0.9% of passenger volume was lost per minute added. As journey times are now roughly 20 minutes longer has Eurostar lost nearly 20% of its non-stop city-centre to city-centre passengers? If not, then was this just another excuse put forward for not stopping at Ashford?

Friday 3rd Oct
“We will take you from Ashford to Lille but we won’t bring you back again!” - hitting new bookers in the face for the next 6 months.

Sun 5th Oct
“Have tried to make some “test bookings” from Ashford to Lille (morning) returning the following evening. On every occasion the computer says there are no trains to meet my request. Unless this nonsense can be stopped most travellers will simply assume that the Ashford – Lille - BXL service no longer operates and will travel by other means. Then, of course, Eurostar will tell us that there is no demand for such a service”.

Mon 6th Oct
“The Nine o’clock train from Brussels stopped in Ashford last Friday night, but it was sheer chaos at MIDI from five o’clock onwards; people were not getting on their right trains because of the queues going out the door of the station. Fortunately for me I flew back from Dublin last night so probably avoided any trouble because of the industrial action”.

Comment: - “…fortunately I arrived at Midi from the UK and did not have to join the hundreds of poor people trying to get back that Friday night. I am not sure that Eurostar had worked out that the five or six staff in Brussels (I have never seen more than that at any one time) just could not cope with 750 passengers as easily as 20+ in St.Pancras”.

KM Kent Business – October
George Ward went off to Gstaad to stay in a luxury hotel. His return rail journey - via Ebbsfleet - was somewhat less luxurious. The scheduled National Express service did not materialise at Ebbsfleet. The office was closed. He had to take a taxi home to Sandwich arriving at 1.30am and £100 poorer.

14th Oct
Response from Eurostar.
I have had a look at the emergency timetable and unfortunately the only service from Lille-Ashford departs Mondays-Fridays at 10:16 and arrives at 10:45.
Comment: - If you had paid a fortune for a Disneyland Resort visit of a lifetime, would you be happy to lose a whole day there?

Tues 21st Oct
Lille passenger: - “the only way I can do my job now is to get a single to Ashford in the morning and a single back from Ebbsfleet the following afternoon - this is very, very expensive. There is no other way to get to Canterbury in time in the morning or get back to Lille at night”.

Tues 21st Oct
“Well, the information available in the weeks after the fire certainly wasn’t consistent or reliable. The time I travelled I was told to be there two hours early to have a chance of getting a place (my train having been cancelled). It then turned out I was too early even to book in. And after that I was unable to buy a return ticket on a Sunday afternoon although two trains were shown on the timetables as running. I wrote to Eurostar “customer care” about it and got a completely off-the point answer 9 days later. Luckily tickets are now available for sale again, but last time I travelled I had to go from St.Pancras”.

Comment: - I travelled ten days after the fire. I too was told to clock in at least two hours early. Some people had been there for more than three. There was no extra seating and many were sprawled on the floor making movement even more difficult. Fortunately I managed to get on to a space on the computer counter. Queues for refreshments were too long to contemplate. It was a great relief to be called to the train. My journey to Brussels from Ashford that day took 8½. At least that has come down to only 6½. It would certainly be as quick and have fewer changes to travel from York!

Eurostar does indeed offer a fixed £59 (€74) return fare for the connecting service from Ashford to Brussels via Lille. This fare can be purchased either from Eurostar’s UK Contact Centre or from Ashford International station.
I’m sorry that that you were unable to purchase an equivalent €80 return at Brussels South Station. We are working hard with our Belgian partners SNCB/NMBS to sort out some ticket distribution problems so that Eurostar can begin selling the €80 tickets in Belgium.
In the meantime, we would advise Belgium-based passengers wishing to travel from Brussels to Ashford via Lille to call our UK Contact Centre on +44 (0)1233 617575 to buy a ticket. They will be charged £59 rather than €80, which in the case of Belgian credit card holders will then be converted at the prevailing sterling to euro exchange rate. Tickets can either be collected from Brussels South Station, which we recommend, or, if there is sufficient time before the date of travel, they can be sent by post.

As a Frequent Traveller, I was delighted by Eurostar’s guarantee of an €80 Brussels - Ashford return ticket. This is what I paid before Ebbsfleet replaced Ashford.
How disappointing to find that on June 23, I couldn’t obtain this rate for a September booking, although not because of a lack of seats. My usual ticket office at Brussels’ South Staion (online booking is not available for this itinerary) could only offer a Brussels - Lille - Ashford return ticket for €118.50. The very helpful staff knew nothing of Eurostar’s promise, nor did the manager. I was directed to Eurostar’s Duty Manager who was equally uninformed. I was unable to speak to the Terminal Manager or even be given his name.
Eurostar has obviously failed to tell its Brussels staff of its commitment to travellers. Worse still, the reply from staff is now invariably that it is no longer possible to travel Brussels - Ashford. When Eurostar axed our direct Brussels - Ashford service, it inserted a Lille stop on the Euro Disney train to facilitate our journey, albeit with a one-hour wait in Lille. Why, after twelve years of paying the same price as Brussels - London passengers, do we now have to pay 50 percent more for an inferior service?
Why does Eurostar not want Ashford passengers? Who’s making the decisions? Is it the chairman of Eurostar, the Director of the Eurostar Group or the CEO of London and Continental Railway, which, I believe, owns much of the land around Ebbsfleet. The answer is all of the above – it’s the same person. Is there any hope for Ashford?