Eurostar: Fast, comfortable, convenient. The perfect way to get from Paris to London.Mar 28 '01 (Updated Dec 12 '03) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Eurostar provides comfortable three-hour city center to city center train service between Paris and London. Now there's no reason to fly this route. Sorry, this isn't an epinion about getting around in France. It's about getting from Paris to London through the channel tunnel aboard Eurostar. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a better category for this epinion. Lots of Americans take a European vacation that consists of a visit to Paris followed by a visit to London. In the old days, there were two ways to make that trek: the slow, scenic way by trains or car and ferry or hover craft and the fast way, by jet. Even with all the convenient and perfectly coordinated connections, the former took about seven hours plus short taxi rides to and from the train stations at both ends, and the latter took an hour in the air plus considerable time at the airport, and longer taxi rides between the airports and city centers, typically a total of at least three hours with carryon luggage and no immigration or customs delays. With the channel tunnel and high speed Eurostar train service, riding the train takes roughly the same amount of time as flying, and it’s much more comfortable. Eurostar Eurostar is a high speed passenger train service that connects Paris, London, and Brussels in a star shaped pattern of tracks centered on Lille. The Paris-London route leaves from Gare du Nord in Paris's right bank, and arrives three hours later at Waterloo (International) Station in the heart of London. In the peak travel season, there are about 24 trains per day on this route. Trains are standardized. Each consists of 18 carriages with space for 206 first class and 560 standard class passengers. They have a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 miles per hour) which they achieve only on the continent; the UK hasn’t yet laid the high speed roadbed. Eurostar claims that 90 percent of the Paris to London trains arrive within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. In addition to London, some trains on this route stop at Lille and/or Calais-Fréthun (France) and/or Ashford, England (in the heart of Kent, near Canterbury). These stops seem to have little or no effect on the three-hour Paris to London timetable. Classes of Service Although there are two types of carriages, there are three classes of service: standard, first, and premium. All classes have reserved seats, and even standard class is considerably more comfortable and spacious than an airplane. There are group or club seating areas, where seats face each other, and you can book these when you make your reservation. Although standard class is comfortable, amenities are minimal. Each seat has a small fold down table, and the club seating areas have a larger table where you can play cards with your buddies. You can buy snacks and drinks from food service carts that pass through the carriage, or you can go to one of the food service cars for a larger selection of snacks and drinks and to stretch your legs. Prices are about twice what you would have paid had you bought your snacks and drinks at the train station, so think twice about getting on the train unprovisioned. First class has larger seats with foot rests, larger tables suitable for getting work done, meals served at your seat, free magazines and newspapers, and some other business amenities. Premium first class adds higher quality and more choice in food and wines, access to Eurostar lounges at both ends of your trip, and a free taxi ride to your final destination. I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but you get the picture. Ticket Prices Let’s get this out of the way right up front: a one way premium first class ticket costs $369. Ouch! The “full fare” is $279 first class and $199 standard class. It’s expensive because you can get a full refund even after the trip date if you don’t use the ticket. Most tourists can make due with a “leisure fare” of $219 first class or $139 standard class. The down side is that you must cancel a leisure fare ticket at least two days before the travel date to get a refund. Children get discounts to $109 first class and $69 standard class, and seniors get a discount to $189 first class but no standard class discount. People holding pretty much any rail pass valid in the UK or Western Europe pay only $155 first class or $75 standard class. Note: like everyone else, rail pass holders must make reservations. These prices are available in the US by ordering from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.com) as of March 2001. In addition, Rail Europe charges a processing/reservation fee of about $10 per ticket. If you wait until you get to Paris to buy your ticket, it may cost more or less depending on exchange rate fluctuations and random promotions or discounts. Your Trip The big friendly-looking yellow and white Eurostar trains leave from the international section of the cleaned up and face lifted Gare du Nord (it used to be pretty ratty). You can get to this station by metro, the B, D, or E line of the RER, and several bus lines. Have your ticket and passport, and be there 20 minutes before the scheduled Eurostar departure time. The departing train chugs slowly through northern Paris and its suburbs, then quickly accelerates to high speed as it rockets through gentle countryside. Within a few minutes you'll experience the shock of opposing trains going by each other at a combined speed of 600 km/h (about 372 miles per hour). After about two hours, you enter the chunnel, which I found to be a completely uninteresting black space although some people have told me they saw various interesting features while passing through. Fifteen minutes later you emerge in England, where the train never goes particularly fast. An hour or so later you'll be winding slowly through the suburbs of London to your stop at Waterloo International station. Because the UK is not part of the EU, you will have to show your passport to someone before you are finally free to explore London. Other Chunnel Trains Eurostar is not the only service using the channel tunnel. Le Shuttle transports automobiles, motorcycles, recreation vehicles, and busses. Of course, there are also freight trains. For More Information The Eurostar web site is at www.eurostar.com . If you click on its “book ticket” function and say you want tickets sent to the USA, it will transfer you to Rail Europe at www.raileurope.com . The official British channel tunnel web site is at www.eurotunnel.co.uk , and a commercial site that sells books, pamphlets, and other information about the chunnel is located at www.channeltunnel.co.uk . Even More Info for Train Freaks Each standard Eurostar trainset has two "engines" and 18 other cars (6 first class coaches, 10 second class coaches, and 2 food service cars). The trains weigh 752 tonnes (about 1.7 million pounds) and are 394 m (nearly 1,300 feet) long. Together, the engines develop 12,200 kilowatts (16,300 horsepower). Seating in first class is 2+1 (i.e. 2 seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other), and second class seating is 2+2. Top speed is 300 kilometers/hour (about 186 miles/hour). Signal block length is about 1,200 feet, and at full speed the breaking headway is about 5 blocks. For an amazing collection of technical details on Eurostar, TGV, and other European high speed trains, see: mercurio.iet.unipi.it/tgv/tgvindex.html . Save Travel Money By Using the Right Credit Card Does your credit card have this feature? Find out how to save at least 2% on all overseas credit card transactions: click here. Other Related Advice on Transportation in Europe -- Using public transit in Paris -- Web Resources for Serious Train Riders -- France and adjacent countries on the TGV, Eurostar, and Thalys -- Getting from Charles de Gaulle airport into Paris -- Paris to London on Eurostar, the Chunnel Train -- London to Paris on Eurostar, the Chunnel Train -- Using the Swiss transportation system  |
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