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Eurostar

The high-speed operator through the Channel Tunnel, from London St Pancras to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Since 2023 it has also run the former Thalys trains between Paris, Brussels, the Netherlands and Germany under the Eurostar name.

1994Current operator since
6Stations served
20 millionPassengers a year, whole Eurostar group (2025)

Facts

Current operator since
14 November 1994
Main stations
London St Pancras International
Type
International high-speed operator
Depots
Temple Mills International (London), Forest (Brussels)
Main routes
Direct trains from St Pancras to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Rotterdam and Amsterdam; Saturday trains to the French Alps in winter, changing at Lille; and Disneyland Paris and Cologne with a change. The former Thalys network links Paris and Brussels with Amsterdam and Germany, without reaching London.
Operating company
Eurostar Group, owned by SNCF Voyages Développement (55.75%), CDPQ (19.31%), SNCB (18.50%) and Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%), as at 2024.
Shares track
In Britain it runs on High Speed 1, the 67.7-mile (109 km) line from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel, which Southeastern's high-speed trains share. Its trains don't currently stop at Ebbsfleet or Ashford.
Class 374 (Eurostar e320) · Siemens Mobility (Velaro); the second batch of seven at Krefeld (Germany) · indicative: some dimensions are estimated, from photographs and published figures.
16 cars, about 1,309 ft (399 m)
Class 373 (Eurostar e300) · GEC-Alsthom
20 cars, 1,293 ft (394.0 m)

Through the tunnel

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 kilometres from the English portal English portal Castle Hill, Cheriton Shakespeare Cliff 9.3 km under England English crossover 8 km out (Geol. Soc. 7) Lowest point ~13 km out French crossover 12 km off France French coast Sangatte shaft French portal 3.3 km under France under England under the sea: 37.9 km To scale along the bore (total 50.5 km). The vertical profile is not drawn: the sources read give a few depths, not a profile (148 ft (45 m) below the seabed leaving Kent, 115 ft (35 m) leaving France, lowest point 377 ft (115 m) below the sea surface).

Eurostar’s trains run through the Channel Tunnel: 50.5 km from portal to portal, 37.9 km of it under the sea. The tunnel, its maps and cross section →

Routes 4 routes · 6 stations

London – Paris 2
London – Paris: schematic, not to scale London St Pancras InternationalLondon St Pancras International Paris Gare du NordParis Gare du Nord
London – Brussels 2
London – Brussels: schematic, not to scale London St Pancras InternationalLondon St Pancras International Brussels-Midi/ZuidBrussels-Midi/Zuid
London – Lille 2
London – Lille: schematic, not to scale London St Pancras InternationalLondon St Pancras International Lille EuropeLille Europe
London – Amsterdam 3
London – Amsterdam: schematic, not to scale London St Pancras InternationalLondon St Pancras International Rotterdam CentraalRotterdam Centraal Amsterdam CentraalAmsterdam Centraal

Schematic, not to scale. Ringed stations are interchanges. Each strip is one service route with its stations in order, as the operator publishes them, entered by hand (see Sources); it doesn't show which trains call where.

StationInterchanges
London St Pancras International
Paris Gare du Nord
Brussels-Midi/Zuid
Lille Europe
Rotterdam Centraal
Amsterdam Centraal

Stations from the operator’s published routes, entered by hand (see Sources).

Fleet

ClassUnitsFormation and notes
Class 374 (Eurostar e320)1716-car e320, 1,309 ft (399 m)
Class 373 (Eurostar e300)820-car e300, 1,293 ft (394 m)

Coming to this operator

History 14

  1. The first Eurostar passenger trains run through the Channel Tunnel.
  2. The first section of High Speed 1 opens in Kent.
  3. Eurostar moves to St Pancras International as High Speed 1 opens in full.
  4. Eurostar becomes a single company.
  5. The UK government sells its stake to CDPQ and Hermes.
  6. The new e320 trains enter service between London and Paris.
  7. The first commercial train runs from London to Amsterdam.
  8. Eurostar and Thalys come together as Eurostar Group.
  9. The Thalys trains start carrying the Eurostar name.
  10. Direct trains from Amsterdam to London resume after works at Amsterdam.
  11. Eurostar orders 30 double-deck Celestia trains from Alstom, with an option for 20 more.
  12. The rail regulator lets Virgin Trains use Temple Mills depot, opening the way for a competitor from 2030.
  13. Eurostar carries its 400 millionth passenger.
  14. The rail regulator approves Virgin Trains' access to High Speed 1 for up to 20 daily return trains from October 2030.

Sources 25

How we source figures →  ·  Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)

Show the 25 sources from Eurostar, HS1 Ltd, Office of Rail and Road and 2 more
unverified
  • Route strips show only the stations sourced: stops between the ends (for example, whether Amsterdam trains call at Brussels) aren't confirmed
  • Passenger numbers are for the whole group, including the former Thalys routes that don't reach London
  • The Office of Rail and Road doesn't publish route kilometres or stations for Eurostar

Know a source for one of these? Send it to us → (opens in a new tab)

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