After running some trials last year Deutsche Bahn (German
Railways) has sadly had to postpone its proposed new 2013 high-speed service
from London to Amsterdam & Frankfurt until 2015.
But this is only a delay for this growing transport sector.
Eurostar has effectively killed off air competition from London to Brussels and
Paris, with shorter times and a better travel experience and now a broader
range of rail operators are looking to consolidate rail dominance across Europe.
New routes will include Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Cologne, Lyon,
Marseille and Geneva.
Eurostar now has an 80 per cent market share between these
three cities, carrying 9.7m passengers a year. The time savings offered by the
rail link were boosted by the full opening of the high-speed rail line between
the Channel tunnel and London, along with its St Pancras International
terminus, in 2007.
New 900-seater trains are already on order and the key
growth area will be taking market share from airlines. The increase in the
number of train operators will provide some good competition for Eurostar and
should grow the whole market for high-speed rail.
