The ability to jump on a train in London and arrive in a European capital within a couple of hours was one of the privileges that we took for granted in the pre-pandemic era. Thanks to Eurostar, just an identity card and a credit card was needed for a journey free of airport stresses for business meetings or weekends in Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam. The train is a far more civilised way to travel. There was a risk that this would be one of the permanent casualties of COVID–19. Since the pandemic hit Europe last March, the service has, like the wider rail and aviation sectors, taken a battering. One train per day from London to Paris and Brussels with a handful of passengers in each carriage; an estimated 95% drop in customers, with travellers now required to go through the lengthy new reality of passenger locator forms and PCR tests. Now it looks like we will, at least, have a Eurostar service to return to when the new normal arrives. The cross–Channel rail operator has finally brokered a £250 million rescue package that will allow it to continue operating, after months of warning that it faced a fight for survival. The volume of trains crossing the Channel will gradually increase to two and then three services per day over the coming weeks. Curiously, while national airlines have received billions of euros in publicly funded bailouts to help them through the pandemic, Europe’s most iconic form of cross–border rail travel struggled to get any cash from governments. In keeping with the spirit of Brexit, the UK government, which sold its stake in Eurostar in 2015, has shown no interest in propping up the service, despite the obvious benefit for businesses and ordinary punters. READ MORE |