Eurostar urged to cut ticket prices from London to Paris and Brussels after rail regulator ruling
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Eurostar was urged to cut ticket prices from Britain to the Continent after the rail regulator announced operators using the high speed line from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel would be charged less. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said that the amount paid by operators to use the High Speed 1 (HS1) line for the five years from April should be cut by 10.4%.
HS1 is used by Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Domestic Southeastern services also operate on the high speed line between London and Kent, and within Kent; as do freight trains heading to and from the Channel Tunnel. East Midlands Railway trains also run in and out of London St Pancras.
HS1 Ltd chief strategy and regulation officer Mattias Bjornfors said: “Our plan for 2025-2030 includes proposals to enhance efficiency and reduce the cost of operating the high-speed line, incorporating innovations like track deterioration modelling to better target renewal investments.
“These innovations have enabled us to propose a 16.5% reduction for operators of international traffic and 11-12% for those handling domestic routes, which we strongly encourage operators to pass on to passengers through more competitive fares or improved services.”.
But Eurostar signalled that savings would go towards improvements at St Pancras International rather than cutting ticket prices on the basis that they had not risen in line with previous increases for using the high speed line. In a statement, it said: “We welcome the ORR’s decision to instruct HS1 to reduce track access charges on the Eurostar route.
