There’s no denying that the Eurostar is a marvellous invention. It’s sustainable, it’s convenient, and if you told a Victorian child that one day we’d be travelling to mainland Europe via a tunnel underneath the English Channel, their head would probably implode. All that being said, Eurostar is not always thought of as affordable.
That could be about to change though. Demand for the Eurostar has rocketed since Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted, despite an increase in fares. Now, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has suggested that ticket prices could go down by 7.7 percent from as early as April 2025.
The ORR had laid out a plan to lower charges for Eurostar and Southeastern to use the High Speed 1, the rail line that connects London’s St Pancras International to the Channel Tunnel, which could result in cheaper tickets for travellers.
Feras Alshaker, director for planning and performance at ORR, said that the plans for HS1 from 2025 to 2030 ‘should see the costs of operating on the line reduce significantly, giving savings for both international and domestic operators over the next five years, with benefits for passengers and freight users.’
That’s all we know for now. A ticket price cut hasn’t been fully confirmed, but given the recent news that Eurostar could suspend all services from the UK to the Netherlands, we’re welcoming this more positive update.
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