RAIL CHRONOLOGY : EUROSTAR SERVICES

Page last updated: 2 April 2012

Eurostar was initially an unincorporated joint operation of through international passenger services by the three national railways involved: British Rail’s European Passenger Services (EPS), SNCF and SNCB/NMBS. British Rail’s element (together with the route infrastructure that came to be known as HS1 and St.Pancras station) passed to the private sector ownership of London & Continental Railways (LCR) from 1 April 1996; their train operating subsidiary became Eurostar (UK) Ltd in October 1996. Each of the three participants was responsible for the running of Eurostar services on their own territory. In September 1999, Eurostar Group, a unified management (but not ownership) structure, was established to drive commercial direction and strategy of the business, with the three railways each represented on its Board (in the proportions: France 62%, UK 33%, Belgium 5%). HM Government re-acquired LCR (and, hence, Eurostar (UK), as well as HS1 and St.Pancras station) on 8 June 2009 as a precursor to separating the train operations from the infrastructure and station, prior to sale of the three elements separately to the private sector again. From 31 December 2009 Eurostar (UK) Ltd was renamed Eurostar International Ltd. Following receipt of EU approval, the unincorporated arrangements were superseded from 1 September 2010 by the whole Eurostar operation being vested in the incorporated company, Eurostar International Ltd - now jointly owned by SNCF (55%), LCR (or, in due course, its sucessor) (40%) and SNCB/NMBS (5%).

The elements of service commenced (and re-commenced following the fire of 18 November 1996) from the dates shown.

Inter-capital daytime services: London Waterloo International, GB - Lille Europe, FR - Bruxelles Midi / Brussel Zuid , BE and Paris Nord, FR:

  • first Eurostar train hauled through Channel tunnel: 20 June 1993
  • unadvertised demonstration service with invited passengers, not weekends: 17 August 1994
  • Discovery service: regular, but limited, daily public service: 14 November 1994
  • Calais Fréthun, FR calls added: 23 January 1995
  • full daily public service: 28 May 1995
  • Ashford International, GB calls added: 8 January 1996
  • services to Marne la Vallée Chessy, FR (Disneyland) : 29 June 1996
  • services ceased in consequence of fire in Channel tunnel: 18 November 1996
  • services resumed: 4 December 1996
  • seasonal services to Bourg St.Maurice, FR: 13 December 1997
  • Bruxelles/Brussel services diverted via LGV [note A] Nord (Lille Fretin, FR - Halle, BE): 14 December 1997 [note B]
  • seasonal services to Avignon Centre, FR: 20 July 2002
  • London services diverted via new line [note C] (Folkestone, GB - Fawkham Junction): 28 September 2003
  • Bruxelles/Brussel services diverted via new flyover between Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid and Forest/Forst: 10 December 2006
  • unadvertised inaugural speed trials with invited passengers from Paris to London St.Pancras International: 4 September 2007; from Bruxelles/Brussel to London St.Pancras International: 20 September 2007
  • unadvertised test services with volunteer passengers between London St.Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International: 30, 31 October, 1, 7, 8 November 2007
  • London services last used London Waterloo International and the link lines between Nine Elms Junction and Linford Street Junction and between Fawkham Junction and Southfleet Junction [note C]: Tuesday 13 November 2007
  • London services diverted to London St.Pancras International via new line [note D] (Southfleet Junction, GB - London St.Pancras International): Wednesday 14 November 2007
  • Ebsfleet International, GB station opened and calls added: 19 November 2007
  • Stratford International, GB station opened for domestic calls only (this station is unlikely to open for international calls): 30 November 2009

    Regional daytime services to/from the UK provinces and European Overnight Services never started and the rolling stock has been deployed elsewhere (the former in Europe, the latter in Canada)

    Eurostar Link: connecting services to London Waterloo International provided by indigenous British train operating company (CrossCountry) under charter to Eurostar (intended as a precursor to the ultimately aborted through regional daytime services) [note E]:

  • Manchester Piccadilly - London Waterloo International: 29 May 1995 - 4 January 1997
  • Edinburgh - London Waterloo International: 29 May 1995 - 4 January 1997

    Notes:
    A : Ligne à Grande Vitesse (= high speed line)
    B : a section of LGV Nord between Fretin (near Lille) and Antoing, which had opened to services other than Eurostar 2 June 1996, was used by some daily Eurostar services between 4 December 1996 and 31 May 1997 (for pathing reasons, with Belgian pilotmen) but the normal route remained that via Tournai until 13 December 1997
    C : both lines then closed to any regular, revenue traffic, although being retained in maintainance; Fawkham Junction - Southfleet Junction is traversed in case of need as a diversionary route; the international platforms at Waterloo went out of use
    D : known as Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) during development and construction phases: Phase 1 between the Channel tunnel and Fawkham Junction (Kent) via the future Southfleet Junction, phase 2 between Southfleet Junction (Kent) and London St.Pancras International; upon opening of completed line known as High Speed 1 (HS1) line
    E : other services direct to London Waterloo - from South Wales and the West of England - were sponsored by the respective train operating companies, not by Eurostar

    Use of routes by internal passenger services
    The continental sections of LGV [note A] were also used for internal and Franco-Belgian services operated by SNCF, SNCB or Thalys from at least the same dates as Eurostar services.

    The UK High Speed Line 1 (HS1) has been used by regular internal UK passenger services, operated by Southeastern train operating company, from 2009:
  • Limited "preview" service between London St.Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International from 29 June 2009 (having also run the previous week as a trial "ghost" service); extended to Ramsgate and Dover from 7 September 2009 and (on Saturdays only) to Faversham via the new Ebbsfleet International - Springhead Road Junction link from 21 November 2009; calls at Stratford International from 30 November 2009
  • Full daily services to destinations in Kent via the Ebbsfleet International - Springhead Road Junction link and the junctions at Ashford International from 13 December 2009.

    Use of HS1 route by freight services
    HS1 was not used for revenue (as opposed to engineering or maintenance) freight service on a regular basis until 11 November 2011, when a train from Wroclaw (Poland) arrived at Barking. This followed a series of trials from 27 May 2011; other regular flows have since started to use the line.

    Richard Maund

    An earlier version of this chronology also appeared in Railway & Canal Historical Society Railway Chronology Group Co-ordinating Newsletter no. 51, July 2007.

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