Eurostar Resumes Limited Service

Following on from the news yesterday that Eurostar had cancelled trains to the continent for a third day, Eurostar posted a message on it's website early this morning saying that a restricted service would run from 7:30am to 6pm GMT.

Eurostar said that only those passengers who originally had reserved seats for Saturday or Sunday would be eligible for travel on Tuesday. Eurostar said it would give priority to passengers “with special needs, such as the elderly or those with young children.” Those with tickets for Monday and Tuesday will be eligible for travel on Wednesday, Eurostar said.

Eurostar conducted tests on Monday to determine the cause of the breakdowns that left thousands of people stranded Friday on five London-bound trains in the Channel Tunnel.

It is still not clear why the wintery conditions this year - which are no worse than previous years - have caused so many problems.

Keep an eye on the Eurostar site for more information.

Eurostar Trains Cancelled

Ongoing bad weather conditions in Northern France have forced Eurostar to cancel it's services today for the third day in succession.

The first snow train to leave for the Alps was due to leave on Saturday, but with 2,000 passengers on five trains stuck in the Channel Tunnel over Friday and Saturday, thousands of other travellers had Christmas travel plans disrupted.

In the lastest statement released last night, Eurostar said:

"As we suspected, the acute weather conditions in northern France have caused the disruption.

Every year we carry out a ‘winterisation’ programme of the entire fleet which to date has successfully protected our trains. We now know, however, that we need to further enhance the snow screens and snow shields in the power cars of the trains.

We have already started making the modifications and to ensure that these new protection measures work effectively we are conducting a further series of test runs.

We sincerely regret having to take this decision and we understand how frustrated and disappointed travellers will be, particularly those who have been waiting to travel for the last two days.

We strongly advise passengers whose travel is non-essential to change their booking to a later date or claim a refund on their tickets.

For customers who have been unable to travel over the last few days, Eurostar will cover the cost of out-of pocket expenses, for example, hotels and taxis. Full details of our compensation policy are on www.eurostar.com”

Cheap Deals boost Eurostar Summer Sales

British holidaymakers heading to Europe on cheap deals helped boost Eurostar sales over the summer, the company has said. Eurostar said offers such as its £59 return helped to boost sales by 8%. Eurostar also said the 11% growth in outbound passengers outstripped a 7% increase in travellers inbound from Europe, with 2.6 million travellers using the train between July and September. All that despite a week pound against the Euro.

Many believe this is a sign of the start of an ecomonic recovery, although Eurostar Chief executive Richard Brown has a more cautious opinion. He said: "In recent weeks a number of our major corporate clients have eased their business travel restrictions...although it is early days, this may be a sign of an upturn."

With already more visitors, it could be a good winter for Eurostar. With Rail Europe having cancelled it's snow train for the upcoming season, ticket sales should be on the up over the next few months.

Eurostar tickets for snow trains to the Alps commence in just 2 months, and ticket sales for the ever popular snow train are already on sale for the 09/10 season.

Eurostar Ski Train tickets now on sale

Eurostar snow train tickets for the forthcoming winter season go on sale today. Last week Rail Europe announced they were cancelling their snow train service, so snow train regulars will be pleased there is still train access to the Alps.

The Eurostar ski train service will run from 19th December 2009 to 17th April 2010, and you can board at St. Pancras International or Ashford International. The ski train will take you to Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-St-Maurice. For transfer times to ski resorts from each station, have a look at our Snow Train Destinations page for more information.

There will be twice weekly departures from St. Pancras International; one day ski train leaving on a Saturday morning, and an overnight ski train leaving on Friday evenings. The overnight Eurostar ski train arrives around 7am in the morning, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the slopes!

You can book your ski train ticket direct at Eurostar.com

Rail Europe Snow Train Cancelled for 09/10 Season

Sad news folks. Rail Europe announced yesterday that the overnight snow train for the coming winter season has been cancelled. Despite being better for the environment, the snow train appears to be the latest victim of the current economic climate. The statement reads:

We’re really sad to announce that the Snow Train won’t be running during the coming ski season. Unfortunately, the current economic climate and poor exchange rates along with an increase in our operating costs, has meant that the service would not be financially viable.

But, lest we forget, you can still reach the French Alps by train. Eurostar runs a day train and a night train, which can whisk you to the Alps at 186 mph. Tickets for the coming winter season will be available in the next few weeks, so check back for more details. Eurostar tickets can be bought online, and check the Eurostar site for more details.