The number of Eurostar passengers is returning to pre-COVID-19 levels

Eurostar has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels of passenger traffic, with passenger numbers up 22% in 2023, the Channel crossing operator reports.

Eurostar also announced that it has found a partial solution that will allow it to maintain limited connections to the Netherlands while works are carried out at Amsterdam station, which threatened to close the popular route in 2024. The rapid growth in demand from London has led to a 25% increase in traffic to Paris and more than a third on Eurostar routes to Brussels and Amsterdam, with the total number of passengers reaching 18.9 million. This information was published by theguardian.com.

Eurostar, which in 2022 merged with the Franco-Belgian high-speed rail operator Thalys, said it was "determined" to reach its goal of 30 million passengers by 2030.

Gwendolyn Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar, says the company achieved extremely strong growth in 2023.

"We carried almost 8 million passengers between London and France, 1.1 million between the Netherlands and the UK, and 2.2 million to Belgium. Our goal is to encourage more people to use the train, which is good for our customers and good for the planet," adds Gwendolyn.

The company's terminal at Amsterdam Central Station is to be closed for six months from June, but Eurostar will continue to run three direct trains from London, although connections on the way back to Brussels will be slower.

The number of passengers from the city has been severely limited due to UK border requirements and space constraints that have been exacerbated by Brexit, but Eurostar hopes to see a significant increase in capacity once the work is completed.

Eurostar services will be in particular demand this summer, when around 2 million passengers are expected to travel to Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The increase in passenger numbers underscores Eurostar's recovery from the pandemic, when travel restrictions pushed the company to the brink of bankruptcy and it ran only one train a day. However, the company has yet to reopen a number of stations, including Ashford and Ebbsfleet in Kent, and its network of direct routes remains limited.