The Eurostar Group, the merger of high-speed train operators Thalys and Eurostar, transported 14,8 million passengers last year and posted a turnover of over 1,53 billion euros, two and a half times more than a year earlier. As a result, profit before Ebita reached a record level of 332 million euros.

By mid-October, a new app, website, and loyalty program are also going to be launched, and the Thalys brand will disappear. “These will be the first visible effects of the merger for our customers”, says Eurostar Group chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave.

Travelers return

Eurostar carried 8,3 million passengers last year, Thalys 6,6 million. This puts the high-speed operators back at 80% of the pre-COVID passenger volume.

And this year too, ticket sales are going like a bomb. For now, it even looks like Eurostar will surpass pre-COVID levels this year. The most dynamic growth on Eurostar Group’s routes is between London and Dutch destinations and between Paris and Amsterdam.

More leisure travelers

The group says it sees particularly strong demand from leisure travelers but a slower recovery among business travelers compared to the pre-COVID period due to the increase in virtual meetings.

Moreover, the situation in Amsterdam remains not evident. Due to renovation works, there is temporarily no room in the hall where customs now resides; therefore, no more than 220 people at a time can board instead of 900.

By 2030, Eurostar aims to carry some 30 million passengers a year, or twice as many as in 2022. However, within a few years, the Eurostar Group may well face competition from other transport companies. After all, both Arriva and Qbuzz have announced plans to run high-speed trains between Amsterdam and Paris. With both companies, the trains would stop in Antwerp and Brussels en route.

Arriva is aiming for June 2027 for the launch of the Amsterdam-Paris connection, and Qbuzz targets January 2027.

51 high-speed trains

Since May last year, Eurostar and Thalys have been under one umbrella, the Brussels-based Eurostar Group. Belgian public rail operator NMBS/SNCB has an 18,5% stake in it.

The merged group employs some 2 200 people and has a fleet of some 50 high-speed trains. Operator Eurostar’s 25 trains, which are responsible for connecting mainland Europe with the UK, would potentially also run on the Thalys network from 2025. Thalys’ 26 trains, on the other hand, cannot pass through the Channel Tunnel.

No Brussels Airport stop

With regard to an eventual high-speed train connection with Brussels Airport, in January, Cazenave said that “I would be lying if I said that one day we will return to Zaventem.” In an interview with the business newspaper De Tijd, the CEO reaffirms that Eurostar does not intend to include Zaventem airport in its offer.

“We would have to reduce the frequency of trains between major cities like Parris, Brussels, Amsterdam, London, and Cologne to go to Zaventem”, she says. “That would not be efficient. And it’s not that there is no alternative. Zaventem airport is not far from Brussels, and there are many trains between the airport and Brussels South.”