Eurostar launches direct Amsterdam to London service – but was anybody onboard it?
Eurostar’s eagerly-awaited direct Amsterdam to London service launched today despite a sharp fall in passenger numbers due to the pandemic.
The rail operator today kicked off the route, which takes 3 hours and 52 minutes, with an initial service of just two trains per day.
Eurostar first launched services to Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 2018, but passengers were previously required to go through passport and security controls in Brussels on the return leg.
The new direct route, priced from £40 each way, takes roughly an hour off the journey time.
The cross-Channel rail service originally planned to start the direct route at the end of April, but was forced to push back the launch due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
But Eurostar opted to plough ahead with today’s launch despite continued travel restrictions, with travellers returning to the UK from the Netherlands required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The train company, which is 60 per cent owned by French state rail firm SNCF, has suffered a sharp downturn in passenger numbers since the start of the crisis.
It is currently operating just five services a day to Paris and Brussels, down from pre-pandemic levels of 30 per day.
It has also been forced to cancel all services from Ebbsfleet and Ashford International until 2022.
Eurostar has introduced a new flexible ticket model, allowing customers to change their booking as many times as they want up to 14 days before departure.
But the boss of the HS1 line, which runs between London and the Channel Tunnel, has warned that the government may need to provide emergency funding to the train operator as a result of the crisis.