EUROSTAR saw record passenger numbers, punctuality and sales figures in 2004. The performance was boosted by the company”s busiest ever Christmas and New Year period, in which 250,000 passengers were carried. 7,276,675 passengers travelled on Eurostar in 2004, up 15% on 2003. Eurostar says that its highest monthly market share in 2004 was 68% on the London ” Paris and 63% on the London ” Brussels air/rail routes. The air competition was further reduced by British Airways decision to drop its Gatwick ” Charles de Gaulle route, the sole remaining service between the two airports. However, with competing Waterloo replaced by St Pancras (left) in 2007, another carrier, perhaps easyJet, might yet return on the route. Eurostar says that punctuality in 2004 was 89.2%, up 10.9% on the same period last year (78.3%) and the best-ever annual figure recorded by the train operator Eurostar and points out this is far better than the figures airline competitors operating on the London ” Paris ” Brussels routes although VLM will challenge that with its 92% record on Brussels ” London City.
http://www.eurostar.com