Eurostar to launch high-speed trains between London, Germany

The combined network of Eurostar and Thalys would link five countries under the new Green Speed banner.

By Matt Lennon, May 16 2022
Eurostar to launch high-speed trains between London, Germany

Eurostar high-speed rail services linking the United Kingdom with Germany will be introduced following the merger of Eurostar International and Belgian railway operator, Thalys Group.

Now approved by the European Commission, the combination of the two brands will see cities in Germany’s mid-northwest including Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund added to the Eurostar network – although there’s no indication yet on when those services would start running.

Dubbed ‘Green Speed’ as a project name, the overarching company known as Eurostar Group will see better train connections and a range of digital tools designed to improve information and communication for passengers.

Currently, Eurostar operates direct services between London St Pancras and Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, along with seasonal services to the southern French cities of Marseille and Bordeaux. With the addition of Germany, the merger takes the popular high-speed rail brand’s network to five countries.

The unified Green Speed rail network would span five countries.
The unified Green Speed rail network would span five countries.

The forthcoming addition of Germany builds further on Eurostar’s march across Europe and follows its expansion with direct services between London and Amsterdam, introduced in 2020.

Passengers moving between London and Cologne by rail must currently change trains in Brussels from the Eurostar to a German ICE service, making a journey of just over four hours - one expected to become much quicker on the expanded Eurostar Group network.

Eurostar and Thalys will also merge their respective Club Eurostar and My Thalys World loyalty schemes into “a single passenger loyalty programme” to reward frequent riders, according to a statement issued by both operators.

Depending on their status, members of the free-to-join programs enjoy perks including use of Eurostar Business Premier lounges and partner facilities, seat upgrades and access to discounted redemption windows throughout the network.

The Green Speed proposal puts environmental concerns front and centre.
The Green Speed proposal puts environmental concerns front and centre.

Between them, Eurostar and Thalys run 112 trains per day carrying more than 18.5 million passengers per year, with Eurostar expecting to be carrying 30 million travellers annually within a decade.

A big part of this growth is likely to come from Paris following a recent move by the French government outlawing short-range flights where a train or bus journey of under 2.5 hours was available.

One impacted route could be Paris to Brussels, with the 264 kilometre journey taking around 90 minutes on the train or an hour by plane. While air is slightly faster at one-hour, couple the flight duration with pre-departure formalities and city-airport travel time at both ends, making the train a clearly more efficient option.

For those with more time, overnight rail travel in Europe is making a comeback thanks to some innovative concepts in new hotel-style sleeper trains, and restoring and revitalising classic rolling stock. Aside from the environmental advantages of rail travel over flying, the sheer elegance and romance of riding the rails is likely to entice travellers to see Europe by train once again.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

22 May 2018

Total posts 67

Whilst London to Cologne is a step in the right direction. London to Berlin would be even better.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

01 Apr 2011

Total posts 47

Indeed it would.  I did Berlin to London back in 2018.  Left Berlin at 7am and arrived in London at 4pm.  Took three trains with changes in Cologne and Brussels.  It was a long day and I still had to get across London on the underground to Waterloo and out to Walton-on-Thames, but arrived at my friends' house about 80 minutes after stepping off the Eurostar.  I already had an oyster card and know my way around on the underground better than a lot of Londoners, so that was easy.  Also had a pre-purchased rail ticket to Walton, so could just get on the next train out.  A long tiring day, but it was an intresting journey though the ICE trains go so fast, you don't see a lot!

30 May 2022

Total posts 2

I have made the London/Berlin trip multiple times, usually one way, because I've travelled elsewhere before/after.  What would make my life better would be to be able to (a) leave London later in the evening (10pm?), even if I only get as far as Amsterdam or Paris before I have to stay in a hotel.   This would let me finish the entire business day, with the post-meeting drink/dinner.

(b) better/later connections *to* London so that I didn't have to start at 7am in Berlin like @johninoz.  

Given the Brexit stupid, an additional thing I would like would be some kind of option to clear British exit immigration *before* I go to bed the night before.  Yeah, that would take some kind of EU-side Yotel at St.Pancras. (But, I love the one at Schipol)

QFF

19 Sep 2013

Total posts 202

Often used to take the train between Brussels and Frankfurt as it wasn’t much shorter with the extra time taken to taxi to/from airports, waiting for planes to take off, etc. And it allowed me to do a lot of work on the train. Didn’t know there was a high-speed line through the Ardennes though - it’s quite a hilly region.

04 Dec 2013

Total posts 155

Be interesting to see if this goes ahead.  15 years ago Deutsche Bahn was promising Frankfurt-London services in time for the 2012 Olympics.  Apparently the difficulties in mismatched signalling and electrical systems were such that it just never happened.  

Art
Art

16 May 2022

Total posts 1

This sounds good, but what is happening about services from Ebbsfleet International? 

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

11 Dec 2016

Total posts 74

When the news about Star Alliance adding a rail partner. I instantly thought it was Eurostar as the logical option.

If Club Eurostar joins into star alliance, it will be fantastic.

30 May 2018

Total posts 33

I live in Paris. A few corrections:

- Paris-Brussels has been operated almost exclusively by the Thalys for over 20 years, with Air France long since discontinuing any air link due to the convenience of HSR and the CDG TGV hub for connections. Air France sell the Thalys CDG Brussels connection as a sector on their bookings.  So the replacement of all O & D air traffic is a 20 year old fact, not a future possibility. 

- The new French law mentioned applies to domestic routes only, such as Paris - Bordeaux, Nantes, Strasbourg, etc,  . 

- Thalys is technically not a 'Belgian Group' but a consortium of French SNCF, Belgian Rail (SNCB) and later Dutch NS and German DB. The trains are French TGVs, modified to handle 3 or 4 different high speed signal systems and voltages

30 May 2022

Total posts 2

Having taken a few Thalys trains, (as well as Eurostar, ICE, and Dutch NS), the Thalys trains were not just in the worst condition, but the entire customer service apparatus was just poorly managed.   So, my reading of this is not so much that Eurostar is expanding, so much that Thalys is admitting defeat, and consenting to a friendly takeover.

Normank Banned
Normank Banned

13 Jun 2022

Total posts 1

Hi am traveling from canada to germany and love to travel using trains to five countries. How should i processed. And is this route already working. I will coming to Berlin. 

Thks


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