Air France to launch rival Channel Tunnel rail service - 15th September 2008

The economic downturn has been hitting airlines and tour companies hard. Over the last few days, fears have been growing that Italian airline Alitalia will collapse because it cannot afford to buy fuel, and last week some 85,000 British holidaymakers were stranded abroad when the travel firm XL Leisure Tours went bust.

But, there’s some good news to report for passengers travelling to Europe, who may, in the next two years, see their fares and journey times reduce following an announcement by Air France that it is to compete with Eurostar by running a high-speed rail service between London and Paris.

Reports suggest that the trip from London could take less than two hours under the company’s plan to bring a new generation of high-speed trains to St Pancras station, which could be capable of running at 224mph through the Channel Tunnel.

Many people may not yet be aware that Eurostar’s monopoly will come to an end at the start of 2010, when new ‘open access’ laws come into force.

Air France-KLM is going into business with Veolia, a French transportation company, to provide the new London-Paris service, which it hopes to have up and running by October 2010. It’s also planning a service between Paris and Amsterdam.

It’s also believed that Virgin Atlantic is exploring the possibility of setting up its own high-speed rail service under the liberalisation plan, whilst Deutsche Bahn has expressed interest in establishing a service from London to Cologne.

Simon Conn, Sales & Marketing Director at Conti Financial Services, says:
“Competition will be great news for overseas property owners, many of whom have been seeking alternatives to short-haul flights. For some, it will be a greener and more convenient service, but most importantly, it will give them more choice about how they wish to travel to their property abroad.”

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