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Eurostar profits surge thanks to 'Da Vinci Code' effect
Last updated at 16:37pm on 11.01.07
On the up: More business travellers are using the tunnel
The success of The Da Vinci Code film led to soaring sales for Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar in 2006, it has been announced.
The thriller movie, set in London and Paris and promoted by Eurostar, helped the company record an 11 per cent increase in sales to £518 million last year.
The company, which operates to Paris and Brussels from London's Waterloo station, carried 7.85 million passengers in 2006 - an increase of more than five per cent on the 2005 total.
Business traveller numbers rose 17 per cent and the number of trains on time improved from 86.3 per cent in 2005 to 91.5 per cent last year.
Eurostar was also helped by the number of people switching to its services during the airport baggage crisis last August and the delays caused by fog at Heathrow before Christmas.
Eurostar will move its London terminal from Waterloo to St Pancras station in Novemer this year when the second, and final, stage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is completed.
With the link in place, London-Paris journey times will come down to two hours 15 minutes and London-Brussels will reduce to one hour 51 minutes.
Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said: "These are record results on sales, traveller numbers and punctuality.
"I am delighted at the strong growth in the number of business travellers, who are discovering the punctuality and productivity advantages that Eurostar offers compared with the experience of flying. Many more travellers are being attracted by the environmental benefits of using high-speed rail instead of short-haul air.
"We are increasing traveller numbers both in and beyond our three core countries.
"We are making good progress in attracting more travellers from across Western Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and Germany, where travellers are discovering that international connections are easier than they imagined."
Mr Brown went on: "I am also pleased that our international sales continue to increase. The US is our principal market, whilst sales from Asia-Pacific are growing strongly.
"We expect 2007 to be another good year, with events such as the Tour de France in July and the Rugby World Cup (in France) in the autumn already generating strong demand in the groups market."
Reader views (2)
I agree with Arthur. It would be fantastic to have dinner or a night out in Paris and get the train at, say, midnight back to London
- Cphilb, London
Just a brief comment concerning the improvement of Eurostars financial position, I believe it could prove advantageous to have through the night services, which could pave the way for people to have an evening in Paris or Brussels and so on. It's a thought which might be worth considering.
- Arthur Lincoln, BE
