Eurostar Group

Eurostar Group

Company type	Private
Industry	High-speed rail service
Founded	April 7, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-04-07) in Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Headquarters	Saint-Gilles , Belgium
Area served	France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands
Key people	Gwendoline Cazenave (CEO)[1]
Services	Eurostar Thalys
Owner	SNCF Voyageurs (55.75%) Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (19.31%) NMBS/SNCB (18.5%) Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%)
Subsidiaries	Eurostar International Limited THI Factory

Eurostar Group is a holding company created by SNCF Voyageurs, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, NMBS/SNCB, and Federated Hermes Infrastructure in 2022 with the aim of merging the operations of Thalys and Eurostar high-speed rail services between France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany.^[2]

History

In September 2019, Eurostar and Thalys shareholders introduced a plan to merge the two companies, a project named Green Speed. Both companies already operate in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, with Eurostar also operating in the United Kingdom, and Thalys also operating in Germany, and SNCF already owns a majority stake in both of them. The project aims at reducing costs, and at providing a more seamless experience to passengers, with the use of a single ticketing system and loyalty program.^[3]

After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project resumed in October 2021. It was announced that both services would be operated under the Eurostar brand, the Thalys brand being dropped,^[4] with the existing Eurostar service being renamed Eurostar Blue and the existing Thalys service Eurostar Red.^[5]

The European Commission approved the planned merger on 29 March 2022.^[6]

In April 2022, the new holding company, Eurostar Group, was established in Belgium. It is owned by the previous shareholders of Eurostar and Thalys, with SNCF retaining its majority stake.^[2]

Criticism

The European Passengers’ Federation believes that the merger will give the new company a monopoly position of the market they serve, and lead to higher ticket prices for passengers.^[7]

Passenger numbers and revenue

In January 2024, Eurostar Group announced that its passenger numbers in 2023 are back to pre-Covid levels, as total passenger numbers reached 18.9 million in 2023, a 22% increase from 2022 numbers.^[8] Eurostar Group's stated target is to reach 30 million passengers by 2030.

References

1. "EUROSTAR GROUP LIMITED people". Find and update company information. Companies House. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
2. "Eurostar, Thalys merge to bring more high-speed rail routes to Europe". Railway Technology. 2022-05-02. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
3. "Eurostar-Thalys merger proposal revealed". International Railway Journal. 2019-09-27. Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
4. "Eurostar brand to be retained in Thalys merger". International Railway Journal. 2021-10-04. Archived from the original on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
5. "Fusion Eurostar-Thalys : la Commission européenne donne son feu vert". LExpansion.com (in French). 2022-03-31. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
6. "Eurostar-Thalys merger on track, as EU gives approval". POLITICO. 2022-03-29. Archived from the original on 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
7. "'Merger Eurostar and Thalys leads to more expensive train ticket'". RailTech.com. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
8. Topham, Gwyn (24 January 2024). "'Eurostar passenger numbers back to pre-Covid levels'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.