Posts Tagged “eurostar”

Cross channel ferries are coping with extra passenger traffic from people making their way home after bring stranded by flight ban caused by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.

The Port of Dover is running as if it were August with extra sailings, and plenty of spare capacity including foot passenger spaces. Normal turn-up-and-go fares apply.

Eurostar has put on at least an extra 28 trains and says it has 30,000 standard class one-way seats available from today at £89

Tour operators and airlines however, said the backlog caused by the erupting volcano Eyjafjalloekull is so great that it will take up to 14 days to clear.

Many britons held up in Spain are making their way to northern Spanish ports such as Santander to wait for the ferry crossing to Plymouth or else the royal navy ships which are being diverted to help out.


Comments No Comments »

Eurostar Deals from Kent

I met someone in Kent the other day who was worried that the latest eurostar deals are proving too attractive with passenger volumes steadily increasing.

When the Channel Tunnel project reared its head again in the 1980s, the people whose jobs depended on the cross channel ferry industry at Dover and Folkestone were worried that these ports were soon to meet an iminent demise. Once the plans for a rail tunnel were reavealed however, it didn’t look so bad. Having to put your car into a wagon to be transported underneath the channel is not so different to driving onto a roll on roll off ferry. So large freight still travels by ferry, and passengers who prefer a lounge, cafeteria and view of the white cliffs and the ocean prefer that route too.

Competition for Eurostar deals

Eurostar deals are more attractive to people wanting to go direct from London to Paris, unencumbered by a vehicle and as such , the competition is really the airlines rather than the ferries. Here the channel tunnel provides a direct advantage, not from Dover to Calais, but from London to Paris. Here are some more resources which deal with the comparative benefits of a high speed Eurostar service:

Comments No Comments »