Eurostar reports continued growth in sales revenues and passenger numbers

Eurostar, the high speed rail service between the UK and mainland Europe, has reported a good start to the year, with continued growth in sales revenues and passenger numbers. It reported that sales revenues are up 7% to £211 million from £197 million in Q1 2011. Passenger numbers are also up 4% to 2.24 million in Q1 2012 from 2.15 million in the same quarter in 2011.

The growth over the last three months has been driven by an increase in leisure travel with business travel in the first quarter of the year remaining broadly flat compared with 2011. In addition to enjoying Eurostar's traditional destinations, passengers looking to travel further afield by high speed rail, have been taking advantage of its highly competitive fares for the train from London to Amsterdam.

Nicolas Petrovic, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: "The year got off to a strong start with sales revenues and passenger numbers on the up.  Our core destinations continue to be a big draw for passengers but we have also seen particularly good take-up of our Amsterdam fares as passengers are increasingly keen to try out new leisure destinations by high speed rail." 

As a sponsor of the London 2012 Games, Eurostar is playing a key role in bringing spectators to London and in helping to make the Games a truly international celebration.  To mark the London 2012 Festival Eurostar is staging ?Traction', an original one-day summer arts festival which will be held in London's newest creative quarter, Granary Square. The venue is a short walk from Eurostar's central London home at St Pancras International.  

This unique event will bring together musical, dance and arts performers from across Europe to celebrate the diversity of European talent.  The festival is set to be a key attraction for visitors coming from the continent and is already seeing high demand for tickets, with the first tranche selling out within days of their release.

Nicolas Petrovic continued: "We are gearing up for an exciting summer as the nation counts down to the London 2012 celebrations.  Bookings for the June bank holiday weekend are looking strong with thousands of visitors coming to London to enjoy the unique pageantry of the Queen's Jubilee.  There is no doubt that London is set to have one of its most memorable years on record and we are looking forward to welcoming visitors from around the world to share in the experience."

-Ends-

Notes to the Editors:
Sales revenue is the value of ticket bookings made during the period. This revenue is only recognised in the profit and loss account at the date on which the passenger actually travels.

Passenger volumes reflect the number of travellers carried by Eurostar in the period.

Traction is being staged on Saturday 14 July 2012.  Early bird tickets have now sold out and the next tranche of tickets will go on sale from 26 April. More information can be found at www.eurostartraction.com or www.ticketmaster.co.uk

About Eurostar:
Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps. Eurostar offers a train from London to Brussels, travelling via the Channel tunnel. Eurostar also offers cheap Paris tickets for those wanting to enjoy Paris city breaks.

Eurostar was established in 1994 as a partnership between three railway companies: SNCF, SNCB and LCR (London and Continental Railways). On 1 September 2010, Eurostar became a single, unified corporate entity owned by three shareholders: SNCF, SNCB and LCR.

Eurostar is a founding member of Railteam, a partnership between Europe's leading high-speed train operators.

PR contact:
Aude Criqui
Senior Press Officer
Eurostar Press Office
Times House
Regent Quarter
Bravingtons Walk
London
N1 9AW
0044 (0)20 7843 5405
www.eurostar.com