And about time that Eurostar (a k a Chunnel Trains to Americans) extended their reach beyond Paris and Brussels (and sporadic ones to EuroDisney and the French Alps) - nwo I read that direct London to Avignon trains will soon be a realtiy - negating the current change of trains in either Lille or Paris.
and why not thru Chunnel trains London to Amsterdam or Cologne/Frankfurt?
and whatever happened to the ambitious plans to have Birmingham and Manchester direct Eurostar trains to Paris or Brussels (or beyond - even overnight Eurostar trains like they currently have to the French Alps from London.
Well those train sets designed for Manchester/Brimingham to London or Paris service were scrapped long ago - for years sitting forelorney at North Pole depot near London Paddington and presumably now sold - I think running on some TGV lines in France, meme!
I have no real data on when Eurostar service direct London to Avignon will commence - just saw it on RailEurope UK web site as a banner - anyone know more details. Thanks.
London to Avignon Thru Eurostar Trains to Start!
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Hi,
Eurostar operates various direct trains to France, but some of them run seasonally to coincide with weather dependent activities - ski season or summer on the south coast for example. A quick summary of all Eurostar trains:
London - Brussels: direct, runs throughout the year, frequently and on all days of the week
London - Paris: direct, runs throughout the year, frequently and on all days of the week
London to DIsneyland (Marne le Vallee), direct, runs throughout the year but there is only one direct train per day in each direction. From the UK to Disneyland Paris they leave in the morning and in the opposite direction in the evening daily. They don't run on Tuesdays or Saturdays except during UK school holidays.
London to Avignon, direct, once a week on Saturday mornings during summer months (approximately July - September - 2013 dates not yet known). Direct trains operate in the opposite direction during the same period, also on Saturdays, but in the afternoon.
London to Bourg St. Maurice, Aime la Plagne and Moutiers direct. There is a day train departing London once a week on Saturday mornings, and a night train on Friday evenings. The direct ski train is a seasonal service, which operates from mid-December to mid-April. During 2012/2013 the ski train service will operate from 21 December 2012 to 13 April 2013.
For additional through-train services: to Amsterdam or Cologne etc, we'll have to wait and see. There's lots of politics about who gets to run the trains so it's not a straight forward process. There was evidence that the German rail operator, Deutsche Bahn was going to start running its own trains through the tunnel but negotiations seem to have stalled.
The Dutch and Belgian railways have only just agreed to a high speed link between Breda and Antwerp after 9 years of discussion. I can't begin to imagine what the discussions would be like to get Eurostar direct to Amsterdam. I'm not sure there would be the demand for such a service anyway.
As for high speed links in the UK, there is HS2 which may eventually be built, initially to Birmingham and then to Manchester and Leeds. For some bizaare reason though that will go to Euston, not St Pancras, and will miss out Heathrow, at least initially.
Lots of opposition to it though as it will destroy vast swathes of quintessential English countryside, including much of the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty.
Eurostars direct to Avignon have been running during the summer for some years.
London-Germany high speed trains were due to start in 2013. But Siemens, who were due to deliver the train sets in 2011, will probably not now deliver them till next year, and DB announced last week the London service won't start till 2016 (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/german-high-speed-rail-london-delayed-further-134551650--sector.html).
So much for German reliability.
I wouldn't bet on the pointless, environmentally destructive, HS2 ever being built. But the consultants inventing face-saving reasons for abandoning the insanity will doubtless make lots of money.
Thanks to kate and hetismij and flanneruk for the updates - seems a HST once was put on the tracks in Britain - kind of a pendolino train like Virgin runs or used to run but on its inaugural press run it tilted way too much, scaring the press and media aboard - if I hazily recall correctly.
I think NIMBys will present any true British high-speed train which to be true high-speed must be built on all new rights-of-way it seems. Through trains to Avignon on a regular basis just makes sense - negating having to change trains in Lille or Paris and 3 hours total competitive with flying for those actually wanting to go to Avignon area and not Nimes, Lyon or Marseilles where planes may put you.
And I understand that thru ticketing amongst various rail ventures like Eurostar, ICE, TGV, Thalys, etc should be put in place soon but have not heard much about it since it was ballyhooed a few years back - returning to what once was where you could buy a thru ticket between practically any two stations in Europe - of course that was in the days of flat fares based on kilometers traveled - not the Byzantine airline like fare structure we have now where you may be paying a lot more or less than the bloke in the neighboring seat.