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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Chaos at airports boosts Eurostar | Chaos at airports boosts Eurostar |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Summer security alerts at UK airports helped swell sales and passenger numbers at Eurostar to record levels. | Summer security alerts at UK airports helped swell sales and passenger numbers at Eurostar to record levels. |
| The disruption saw large numbers of passengers taking the cross-channel train service when flights were cancelled or heavily delayed. | The disruption saw large numbers of passengers taking the cross-channel train service when flights were cancelled or heavily delayed. |
| Eurostar carried a record 2.15 million passengers between July and September - up 9.9% on the same period a year ago. | Eurostar carried a record 2.15 million passengers between July and September - up 9.9% on the same period a year ago. |
| The high-speed trains, linking London with Paris and Belgium via Ashford in Kent, saw sales up 21% to £130.4m. | The high-speed trains, linking London with Paris and Belgium via Ashford in Kent, saw sales up 21% to £130.4m. |
| Business class sales rose 27% in the period and 91.4% of trains ran on time, Eurostar said. | Business class sales rose 27% in the period and 91.4% of trains ran on time, Eurostar said. |
| Environmental impact | Environmental impact |
| At the height of the airport disruption, Eurostar brought in extra staff to deal with queues and at times people were blocked from London's Waterloo station concourse for fear of overcrowding. | At the height of the airport disruption, Eurostar brought in extra staff to deal with queues and at times people were blocked from London's Waterloo station concourse for fear of overcrowding. |
| The company said it expected growing awareness of climate change and carbon dioxide emissions to encourage more passengers to use Eurostar instead of planes. | The company said it expected growing awareness of climate change and carbon dioxide emissions to encourage more passengers to use Eurostar instead of planes. |
| "We have been surprised and pleased at the increasing number of passengers who say that the environment is a growing reason for switching to Eurostar, and who are prepared to make Eurostar part of longer, connecting rail journeys than in the past," said director of communications, Simon Montague. | |
| Research Eurostar commissioned last month found that passengers flying to Paris or Brussels generated ten times more carbon dioxide than those who made the journey by train. | Research Eurostar commissioned last month found that passengers flying to Paris or Brussels generated ten times more carbon dioxide than those who made the journey by train. |
| On Monday, struggling Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel said it saw an increase in the number of cars and trucks using its service in the third quarter, but a drop in coach travel. | |
| Sales between July and September rose 7% to £149.5m but chief executive Jacques Gounon said the performance should be seen "in a context which remains worrying". | |
| In August, a French court granted Eurotunnel's request for bankruptcy protection, giving the firm a six-month respite from debt repayments. | |
| It had failed to reach a deal with creditors to reduce its debt mountain of £6.2bn. |