(Yes, it’s trains. After all, it’s a TRAVEL blog…)
Already widely reported, but Eurostar services from London to Brussels are affected due to a Belgium rail strike in progress.
It isn’t a wild guess to also say TGV and Thayls services are also hit, as well as domestic Belgium rail services.
A very limited coach service from Lille to Brussels is being operated, but passengers are being advised to rebook, with only the 19:34 departure from London will be making it through to Brussels today.
Eurostar – so wonderful, yet one little rail strike (saying that it’s the same if ATC walks out in a country….)
In other Chunnel related news, the DB has been busy with one of it’s ICE3 units, sending it back and forth through the Channel Tunnel in for testing purposes and evaluation to see if an ICE3 will meet the safety requirements to operate in the Tunnel, with a view of opening up a London -> Colonge/Frankfurt service (and taking on Eurostar at it’s own game).
This is thanks to open access coming to the tunnel – allowing other operators to access it and run services subject to safety (and if they pay enough for the paths through the tunnel).
If this works, opens up a lot of routes and possible new services. However, to work (in my thoughts) they’re going to have to pass the centre-to-centre test.
What’s that you’re asking?
It’s time time from one Centre to another Centre, whilst factoring actual travel time, time waiting time in security and time getting to the main transit points. Eurostar works well against the planes for this – whilst the flight time is 50 minutes, the time to get to Heathrow (15 minutes to ~1 hour depending on part of London and mode of transport), an hour through check in, security and boarding, and anohter 30 minutes getting into london, suddenly the 1 hour 51 London to Paris train service with a 10 minute tube point to point suddenly looks very good timing.
And this is where new operators will have to compete on – convenience and point to point times.
Still – interesting times.
