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Eurostar: Shorter Travel Times London-Paris, London-Brussels and New Station to Debut November 14, 2007 WHITE PLAINS, NY — (MARKET WIRE) — November 14, 2006 —

-- Journey times will be cut by an average 23-25 minutes-- Eurostar's 100% high-speed track delivers faster,



more reliable, less environmentally damaging alternative to flying– Stunning new station with connections throughout UK– Rail Europe reports 3rd quarter YTD North American sales up 25% Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train operator between the UK, Franceand Belgium, announced today that it will launch passenger services from StPancras International Terminal in exactly one year’s time, on November 14,2007.
Eurostar confirmed that it will move its London terminal overnight in orderto minimize disruption to travelers, with the last services betweenWaterloo International and Paris/Brussels continuing until November 13,2007.
The move to a new station in central London, served by the UK’s first 100%high-speed line, called High Speed 1, will cut journey times betweenLondon, Paris and Brussels by an average of 23-25 minutes. Currently,Eurostar travels on high-speed track for much of the journey in England,until just outside London when the trains revert to the existing rail trackat much lower speeds.
Fastest travel times between the centers of London and Paris will shrink tojust 2 hours 15 minutes and between London and Brussels to 1 hour 51minutes.
Eurostar’s dedicated high-speed track, which will run between St PancrasInternational and the Channel Tunnel, means services will be even morereliable. Eurostar expects to further improve on its current punctualityof more than 90%, already significantly better than the airlines.
Eurostar travelers will have connections to seven mainline rail services atSt Pancras, King’s Cross and nearby Euston stations, and six LondonUnderground (subway) lines, providing links across the UK and making StPancras International one of the foremost rail hubs in Europe, ideal fortourists heading for other UK destinations, such as Cambridge, Edinburgh orYork.
Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: “The completion of thehigh-speed line together with the move to St Pancras will be the mostsignificant event in Eurostar’s history since we started running passengerservices 12 years ago today. It will mark the start of a new era in travelbetween the UK and continental Europe, making high-speed rail an evenfaster, more reliable and less environmentally damaging alternative toflying.
“St Pancras International will be a stunning, newly restored historicstation in the heart of London, with connections fanning out across thecountry. We will be competing head-on with regional airports, withcomparable city center-to-city center journey times, much greaterfrequencies, and highly affordable through fares.”
Rail Europe’s Eurostar North American sales up 25%
Rail Europe, Eurostar’s official North American representative, reports 3rdquarter sales are up 25% over those for the same period in 2005, withOctober sales alone up 41% over the same month last year.
“While the general trend of North Americans traveling to Europe is up thisyear, we think that the increase in sales is due to travelers’ frustrationwith baggage restrictions and delays at airports, as well as the increasedavailability and more simplified fare structure of Eurostar tickets,”commented Fabrice Morel, President and CEO of Rail Europe.
Environmental benefits of high-speed rail
Independent research commissioned by Eurostar has shown that flying betweenLondon and Paris or Brussels generates ten times more carbon dioxideemissions than taking Eurostar. A roundtrip flight produces enough CO2 tofill a double-decker bus, while a roundtrip by rail generates only enoughCO2 to fill a Mini Cooper.
“Taking the train, not the plane, for travel within Europe is one of thekey ways we can all reduce our impact on climate change. From St PancrasInternational, Eurostar will seamlessly connect into the high-speed railnetwork that is growing across Europe, which by 2008 will slash journeytimes between London and cities such as Amsterdam, Cologne and Strasbourgby between 20-30%,” said Eurostar’s Brown.
Traveling at speeds up to 186 mph, Eurostar currently makes theLondon-Paris journey in 2 hrs 35 min, London-Brussels in 2 hrs 15 minuteson the fastest schedules. Fares start at just $89 US/$102 CAD roundtripbetween London-Paris (or London-Brussels). More than 70 million travelershave ridden Eurostar since the launch of service in 1994.
For more information visit www.eurostar.com or contact Rail Europe,Eurostar’s official North American representative at www.raileurope.com orcall 1-800-EUROSTAR (1-800-387-6782).
Photos: members of the press may download high-res photos of Eurostar atwww.raileurope.com/presspix

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