The fast train Eurostar gives London a Paris will speak Belgian. The railway company that whizzes under the Channel at 160 kilometers per hour was saved by the Belgians (and a little French) of Thalys. The Tav between England and Europe (the only fast connection in the United Kingdom) is safe, after months of great uncertainty. Last Christmas, Eurostar raised the white flag: due to Covid, passengers had dropped to zero and the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The Covid blow
The Eurostar turnover had plummeted by 95%, practically a company with only employees and no customers: throughout 2020 only 69 thousand passengers they had boarded the fast trains, up from 11 million the previous year. Before Covid, from the St. Pancras International More than 50 trains a day were leaving for Europe: last year the number had dropped to 2 trains a day, traveling almost empty. Under the holidays, as the United Kingdom struck a last-second deal with the EU on Brexit, and France blocked the port of Calais to teach the riotous English a lesson, Eurostar Eurostar had presented herself on her knees at the door of Downing Street.
No help for the French
However, Eurostar had found closed doors in London: the government of Boris Johnson had refused to grant public aid. SNCF, the state railway company of Paris. For a country where the railways have been private for 40 years, the idea of financing a private company, moreover its historical rival France, was simply unthinkable. The Minister of Transport Grant Shapps he had been categorical in saying No. In reality, the government itself did not hesitate to help companies, including foreign ones (such as Trenitalia), which operate in the UK. In the end, help came from OltreManica: by taking Eurostar, Thalys thus expands its Tav network in Europe (it already manages trains between Paris and Brussels). Also toast to Ponzano Veneto: Atlantia of the family Benetton is a shareholder of EuroTunnel, the company that collects Eurostar tolls. It remains to be seen whether this shift in center of gravity will lead to a refocusing on Europe for Eurostar, to the detriment of London. In the event that Thalys decides that the London-Paris route is no longer central to its core business, which is more focused on fast continental connections, it could look out of the window. Forward WestCoast, the English company managed by Trenitalia (which is already planning to manage the future Tav London-Manchester).