Leroy N. Soetoro
2020-12-26 19:32:03 UTC
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/business/eurostar-pandemic-train-
europe.html
PARIS Earlier this month, David-Alexander Leduc rolled his suitcase down
a nearly empty platform at the Gare du Nord train station and scanned his
ticket at the turnstile to board the sole Eurostar leaving that day for
London.
Mr. Leduc used to shuttle regularly for business on one of at least 17
high-speed Eurostar trains that ran back and forth daily, morning to
night, through the underwater Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France.
He was lucky there was a train to take.
Its constraining, said Mr. Leduc, who lives in London and has cut back
hopping over to France to meet clients as a plunge in ridership from
national quarantines forces Eurostar to slash services. But you have to
adapt.
On Monday, a bad year for Eurostar suddenly turned worse. All service from
London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam was suspended for at least 48
hours, as governments on the continent banned travelers from Britain, a
precaution as health officials try to control a new variant of coronavirus
sweeping across parts of England. Trains will continue operating from
Paris to London, the company said.
Eurostar, the sleek and speedy mode of travel that ties London, Paris,
Brussels, Amsterdam and other cities, is a shadow of itself, crippled by
the pandemic. Its ridership has all but vanished, and its finances are
threatened. More than 90 percent of its employees have been furloughed,
one of its union said.
Its woes reflect a struggle for survival playing out across the European
train industry, as the pandemic continues to upend the business of
transportation. Like Europes airlines, the railway sector is facing its
worst crisis in modern history.
Ridership has slumped 70 to 90 percent amid lockdowns and social-
distancing requirements, pushing the industry toward a staggering 22
billion in losses this year, around the same expected for European
airlines, according to CER, a Brussels-based trade group representing
passenger and freight train operators. Thousands of trains have been
mothballed, and tens of thousands of workers are on government-subsidized
furloughs.
Its a totally extraordinary situation, said Libor Lochman, CERs
executive director. There is no comparison for it, and it can and will
lead to the bankruptcy of a number of companies, unless there is the
political will to prevent it, he said.
With more than nine billion passengers and 1.6 billion tons of freight
carried on tracks stretching from Spain to Sweden, Europes trains are as
vital as planesfor whisking people and goods across the continent.
But even after the pandemic, analysts say work-from-home practices, online
socializing and the rise of internet shopping will have a lasting impact
on rail travel of all types, leaving privately owned companies like
Eurostar and state railways including DeutscheBahn in Germany and SNCF of
France, Eurostars biggest shareholder, struggling to survive.
The European Union needs the industry to remain viable: It has made rail
transport a centerpiece of the European Green Deal, a landmark
environmental policy that aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral
continent by 2050. The plan includes doubling high-speed rail and freight
traffic, and expanding electric-powered trains and tracks to slash carbon
emissions.
Eurostar, which employs 3,000 people and has its headquarters in London,
has appealed to the British and French governments, citing its role as a
low-carbon mode of travel, after the aviation industry and public rail
received billions in financial support.
There is a risk that this iconic service could be left to fail,
Eurostars chief executive, Jacques Damas, wrote in an op-ed article.
As an independent train operator, the company isnt eligible for direct
aid in Britain, but it is pressing on other fronts. Eurostar is seeking
relief from British business taxes, and especially the steep tolls it pays
for using train tracks in Britain, which Mr. Lochman said can sometimes
cost several hundred euros per mile.
State railways are getting billions in support. SNCF, which faces losses
of up to 5 billion, with only a fraction of its high-speed TGV trains
currently running, received a 4 billion capital injection from the French
government last Tuesday. DeutscheBahns expected losses of 5.6 billion
this year will be offset by up to 4 billion in rail support from the
German government.
Privately held operators that rely on shareholders and customer receipts
face higher hurdles. Start-up low-cost train companies, including
Flixtrain in Germany, have cut service and face financial strain. Leo
Express, a competitor in the Czech Republic, filed for bankruptcy in
October.
Eurostar is the biggest and most well known of the bunch. Owned by a
consortium including SNCF, which holds a 55 percent stake, as well as
investment firms and the National Railway Company of Belgium, it was
already bracing for a potential hit to business from Britains decision to
leave the European Union, which officially takes effect on Jan. 1.
Pandemic restrictions have dealt it a swifter blow. After record profit in
2019, when 11 million people crowded onto its trains, Eurostar said it was
now fighting for its survival after a total collapse in demand for
international rail travel.
Passenger numbers have plunged 95 percent since March. Revenue fell by
340 million in the first half, down 61 percent from a year ago. From a
peak of running more than 60 trains a day, Eurostar cut service to one
daily round-trip between London and Paris, and one on its London-Brussels
and Amsterdam routes.
Until this week, Eurostar was temporarily adding more daily trains ahead
of the Christmas holidays, with plans to return to a reduced schedule in
January.
The suspension of service out of London will depend on whether European
governments agree to accept British travelers. We are waiting further
detail from the governments on restrictions beyond this initial 48 hour
period, the company said Monday.
Eurostar recently secured more than 200 million British pounds in
financing from its shareholders, but the money is finite. A spokeswoman
said the outlook for 2021 continues to be significantly lower passenger
numbers and loss of revenue than can sustain our business.
Unions, which typically fight management, are aligned with Eurostar
executives in pushing for government help.
Until Covid broke, we had a business that was on the up and up, said
Mick Lynch, a representative of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and
Transport Workers, which represents Eurostars employees in Britain. Now,
we are looking at 5 percent of previous revenue and passengers on a good
day, he said. No business can operate on that, he said.
Even after a vaccine is rolled out, Europes major rail companies face a
precarious transition period. A full turnaround for passenger railway
operators is unlikely before 2023 or 2024, and even that will depend on
government support, said Maria Leenen, a founder of SCI Verkehr, a
Hamburg-based rail industry consultancy.
As the industry maps out a post-pandemic recovery, analysts say it will
need to inspire new loyalty in riders, in part by promoting trains as an
ecological way to travel as Europe moves toward a greener future.
Companies are also reviewing pricing models that worked fine when business
executives and selfie-taking tourists swarmed to Europes capitals, but
are less viable as a pandemic-induced recession cuts into consumers
spending power.
With fewer trains, ticket prices have been climbing to sometimes
astronomical levels that have sent even environmentally conscious
commuters searching for airplane flights that are up to 75 percent
cheaper.
Mr. Leduc, an industrial consultant for British and French start-ups, paid
about 400 euros (about $485) for his round-trip ticket, about double the
normal fare. He said he paid it because the trip was for business. But as
he plans holiday travel back to France with his wife and daughter, he is
mulling whether to take easyJet, a discount airline, after realizing that
train tickets for his family could cost nearly 1,000.
If Eurostar prices stay in the stratosphere, I wont hesitate to start
taking the plane, even if its more tiring, longer and more polluting, he
said.
Even when quarantines are lifted, people may not use trains as frequently,
including lucrative business travelers who thought nothing of hopping on
the Eurostar to Paris for a meeting, then returning to dine in Soho that
evening. Some riders will have ditched the train for cars. In metropolitan
areas, commuters may turn increasingly to bicycles for short-distance
travel.
Still, the pandemic is unlikely to wipe out Europes love affair with
trains. People will probably gravitate back to their old mobility behavior
as the pandemic fades, said Ms. Leenen of SCI Verkehr.
But the trains will just be a little less full, she said.
Antonella Francini contributed reporting from Paris.
Liz Alderman is the Paris-based chief European business correspondent,
covering economic and inequality challenges around Europe. She was
previously an assistant business editor, and spent five years as the
business editor of what was The International Herald Tribune.
@LizAldermanNYT
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: ***@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
europe.html
PARIS Earlier this month, David-Alexander Leduc rolled his suitcase down
a nearly empty platform at the Gare du Nord train station and scanned his
ticket at the turnstile to board the sole Eurostar leaving that day for
London.
Mr. Leduc used to shuttle regularly for business on one of at least 17
high-speed Eurostar trains that ran back and forth daily, morning to
night, through the underwater Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France.
He was lucky there was a train to take.
Its constraining, said Mr. Leduc, who lives in London and has cut back
hopping over to France to meet clients as a plunge in ridership from
national quarantines forces Eurostar to slash services. But you have to
adapt.
On Monday, a bad year for Eurostar suddenly turned worse. All service from
London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam was suspended for at least 48
hours, as governments on the continent banned travelers from Britain, a
precaution as health officials try to control a new variant of coronavirus
sweeping across parts of England. Trains will continue operating from
Paris to London, the company said.
Eurostar, the sleek and speedy mode of travel that ties London, Paris,
Brussels, Amsterdam and other cities, is a shadow of itself, crippled by
the pandemic. Its ridership has all but vanished, and its finances are
threatened. More than 90 percent of its employees have been furloughed,
one of its union said.
Its woes reflect a struggle for survival playing out across the European
train industry, as the pandemic continues to upend the business of
transportation. Like Europes airlines, the railway sector is facing its
worst crisis in modern history.
Ridership has slumped 70 to 90 percent amid lockdowns and social-
distancing requirements, pushing the industry toward a staggering 22
billion in losses this year, around the same expected for European
airlines, according to CER, a Brussels-based trade group representing
passenger and freight train operators. Thousands of trains have been
mothballed, and tens of thousands of workers are on government-subsidized
furloughs.
Its a totally extraordinary situation, said Libor Lochman, CERs
executive director. There is no comparison for it, and it can and will
lead to the bankruptcy of a number of companies, unless there is the
political will to prevent it, he said.
With more than nine billion passengers and 1.6 billion tons of freight
carried on tracks stretching from Spain to Sweden, Europes trains are as
vital as planesfor whisking people and goods across the continent.
But even after the pandemic, analysts say work-from-home practices, online
socializing and the rise of internet shopping will have a lasting impact
on rail travel of all types, leaving privately owned companies like
Eurostar and state railways including DeutscheBahn in Germany and SNCF of
France, Eurostars biggest shareholder, struggling to survive.
The European Union needs the industry to remain viable: It has made rail
transport a centerpiece of the European Green Deal, a landmark
environmental policy that aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral
continent by 2050. The plan includes doubling high-speed rail and freight
traffic, and expanding electric-powered trains and tracks to slash carbon
emissions.
Eurostar, which employs 3,000 people and has its headquarters in London,
has appealed to the British and French governments, citing its role as a
low-carbon mode of travel, after the aviation industry and public rail
received billions in financial support.
There is a risk that this iconic service could be left to fail,
Eurostars chief executive, Jacques Damas, wrote in an op-ed article.
As an independent train operator, the company isnt eligible for direct
aid in Britain, but it is pressing on other fronts. Eurostar is seeking
relief from British business taxes, and especially the steep tolls it pays
for using train tracks in Britain, which Mr. Lochman said can sometimes
cost several hundred euros per mile.
State railways are getting billions in support. SNCF, which faces losses
of up to 5 billion, with only a fraction of its high-speed TGV trains
currently running, received a 4 billion capital injection from the French
government last Tuesday. DeutscheBahns expected losses of 5.6 billion
this year will be offset by up to 4 billion in rail support from the
German government.
Privately held operators that rely on shareholders and customer receipts
face higher hurdles. Start-up low-cost train companies, including
Flixtrain in Germany, have cut service and face financial strain. Leo
Express, a competitor in the Czech Republic, filed for bankruptcy in
October.
Eurostar is the biggest and most well known of the bunch. Owned by a
consortium including SNCF, which holds a 55 percent stake, as well as
investment firms and the National Railway Company of Belgium, it was
already bracing for a potential hit to business from Britains decision to
leave the European Union, which officially takes effect on Jan. 1.
Pandemic restrictions have dealt it a swifter blow. After record profit in
2019, when 11 million people crowded onto its trains, Eurostar said it was
now fighting for its survival after a total collapse in demand for
international rail travel.
Passenger numbers have plunged 95 percent since March. Revenue fell by
340 million in the first half, down 61 percent from a year ago. From a
peak of running more than 60 trains a day, Eurostar cut service to one
daily round-trip between London and Paris, and one on its London-Brussels
and Amsterdam routes.
Until this week, Eurostar was temporarily adding more daily trains ahead
of the Christmas holidays, with plans to return to a reduced schedule in
January.
The suspension of service out of London will depend on whether European
governments agree to accept British travelers. We are waiting further
detail from the governments on restrictions beyond this initial 48 hour
period, the company said Monday.
Eurostar recently secured more than 200 million British pounds in
financing from its shareholders, but the money is finite. A spokeswoman
said the outlook for 2021 continues to be significantly lower passenger
numbers and loss of revenue than can sustain our business.
Unions, which typically fight management, are aligned with Eurostar
executives in pushing for government help.
Until Covid broke, we had a business that was on the up and up, said
Mick Lynch, a representative of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and
Transport Workers, which represents Eurostars employees in Britain. Now,
we are looking at 5 percent of previous revenue and passengers on a good
day, he said. No business can operate on that, he said.
Even after a vaccine is rolled out, Europes major rail companies face a
precarious transition period. A full turnaround for passenger railway
operators is unlikely before 2023 or 2024, and even that will depend on
government support, said Maria Leenen, a founder of SCI Verkehr, a
Hamburg-based rail industry consultancy.
As the industry maps out a post-pandemic recovery, analysts say it will
need to inspire new loyalty in riders, in part by promoting trains as an
ecological way to travel as Europe moves toward a greener future.
Companies are also reviewing pricing models that worked fine when business
executives and selfie-taking tourists swarmed to Europes capitals, but
are less viable as a pandemic-induced recession cuts into consumers
spending power.
With fewer trains, ticket prices have been climbing to sometimes
astronomical levels that have sent even environmentally conscious
commuters searching for airplane flights that are up to 75 percent
cheaper.
Mr. Leduc, an industrial consultant for British and French start-ups, paid
about 400 euros (about $485) for his round-trip ticket, about double the
normal fare. He said he paid it because the trip was for business. But as
he plans holiday travel back to France with his wife and daughter, he is
mulling whether to take easyJet, a discount airline, after realizing that
train tickets for his family could cost nearly 1,000.
If Eurostar prices stay in the stratosphere, I wont hesitate to start
taking the plane, even if its more tiring, longer and more polluting, he
said.
Even when quarantines are lifted, people may not use trains as frequently,
including lucrative business travelers who thought nothing of hopping on
the Eurostar to Paris for a meeting, then returning to dine in Soho that
evening. Some riders will have ditched the train for cars. In metropolitan
areas, commuters may turn increasingly to bicycles for short-distance
travel.
Still, the pandemic is unlikely to wipe out Europes love affair with
trains. People will probably gravitate back to their old mobility behavior
as the pandemic fades, said Ms. Leenen of SCI Verkehr.
But the trains will just be a little less full, she said.
Antonella Francini contributed reporting from Paris.
Liz Alderman is the Paris-based chief European business correspondent,
covering economic and inequality challenges around Europe. She was
previously an assistant business editor, and spent five years as the
business editor of what was The International Herald Tribune.
@LizAldermanNYT
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: ***@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.