Eurostar Breaks Passenger Growth Record, Despite Calais Strike
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
July 22, 2015
Channel Tunnel rail operator Eurostar has reported record quarterly passenger numbers despite the disruption caused by strikes in Calais.
Around 2.8 million passengers travelled on the high-speed service in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 3 per cent on last year.
The record numbers were despite disruption during ferry worker strikes in Calais last month over the sale of the MyFerryLink’s ferries to the rival DFDS Seaways.
However, overall sales revenues for the first half of the year fell 2% due to the impact of the terrorist attacks in Paris during the first quarter and the closure of Eurotunnel following a lorry fire.
Two strikes took place at the end of June, leaving thousands of cross-Channel passengers and lorries stranded, while migrants also took advantage of the chaos to try to board UK-bound lorries stuck on the French side of the Channel.
A speaker for your panel put it has been a “frustrating situation”, introducing the fact that the rigid was also in close down phone with resources so it can “respond incredibly quickly” subsequent.
