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Eurostar will depart St Pancras from autumn 2007
Autumn 2007 is now confirmed as the launch date for Eurostar's services from London St Pancras to Paris and Brussels. At the same time as St Pancras comes on line, the high-speed train operator will close its existing Waterloo terminal. When it moved to St Pancras it had been thought that Eurostar would seize the opportunity to emulate its airline rivals and go ticketless. But it's not now going to happen straightaway.
"How do you define e-ticketing?" Richard Brown, Eurostar's chief executive, told Business Traveller, "in practice we're pretty close to it now. Passengers using our ticketing machines, key in their reference and get a ticket. That ticket is their boarding card. [Ticketless airlines still provide passengers with a boarding card]. But, you are right, we are looking at getting rid of the boarding pass altogether but the system won't be ready when we open up at St Pancras. Ideally, we believe a 'swipe device' would be attractive for our business passengers."
Using St Pancras will enable Eurostar to cut timings by 20 minutes as it will run on high-speed tracks all the way to the Channel Tunnel. In the longer term Eurostar is looking to realise its potential to feed more passengers into the European rail network. It is extending its Railteam alliance with high-speed firm Thalys (which operates from Paris to Amsterdam and Cologne via Brussels) to include rail companies in a number of countries including Germany, France, Holland and Belgium.
At present it is difficult if not impossible to obtain through tickets (and therefore beneficial fares) on Eurostar into mainland Europe with the chief exception of France (presumably because SNCF, the French national rail operator, is a main shareholder in Eurostar). One reason is because the national rail operators have developed their own ticketing and accountancy systems.
By contrast the airlines are well ahead in terms of co-operation and ticketing. Admits Richard Brown, "the [conventional] airlines started with IATA [an industry trade body] and GDS [booking] systems and these were brokers of common standards and presentation."
There is a growing number of high-speed lines but there are ticketing issues between the rail firms. "The challenge for us," says Richard Brown, "is to present this as a network with seamless connections, through fares, through ticketing and common standards. Where Eurostar has been able to co-operate with national rail systems we've seen strong passenger growth."
One of the first benefits to be seen is the incorporation of the useful Thalys high-speed links into the Eurostar booking system. Richard Brown confirms this move will take effect from the autumn and it will enable passengers leaving London to, for example, connect with Thalys at Brussels for Cologne or Amsterdam. It will also enable them to bridge the gap (with Thalys) when booking a two city trip covering Brussels and Paris.
For more information go to eurostar.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
Hilton opens Canary Wharf hotel
London's up-and-coming Canary Wharf commercial and financial area now has a 283-room Hilton hotel. The £53 million property opened on June 26 and is already doing good business during the week. Located next to South Quay DLR (Docklands Light Railway) station and a short walk to the Jubilee line Canary Wharf station the 15-floor hotel is easily accessible from the capital's City and West End. The most convenient airports are London City (ten minutes drive) and Stansted (forty to fifty minutes drive on a good day).
It's the first of three Hilton "new look" properties scheduled to open in the UK this year all of which are contemporary in style. Main features of the Hilton Canary Wharf include a 55-room executive section (including 23 junior suites) occupying the property's top three floors with splendid views over the city. A spacious lounge provides breakfast, light meals and drinks throughout the day. There's free wifi within the executive lounge (but not the rooms) and in the hotel's public areas.
Rooms are spacious (30 to 35 sq metres) with quality bathrooms, flat screen TVs and other modern features including precisely controlled air-conditioning. There's a single restaurant and bar, Cinnamon, serving fresh and sophisticated food and drink. A Living Well Express health club comes without a pool but is open only to hotel guests.
Room rates reflect midweek (rather than weekend) occupancy bias. For a stay next Tuesday (July 11), hilton.com quoted an online Value rate (this comes with restrictions) of £197 with a Flexible rate of £219. Executive floor rates were £242 and £269 respectively.
But it was a different matter at the weekend. For a stay on Saturday July 15, hilton.com quoted £89 and £99 respectively for normal rooms with executive accommodation priced at £134 and £149. All rates are subject to 17.5 per cent tax.
The two other Hiltons opening this year are the 245-room Hilton London Tower Bridge scheduled for September and the Hilton Manchester Deansgate due to open in October.
Hilton London Canary Wharf, South Quay, Marsh Wall, London E14 9SH. Tel +44 (0)20 3002 2300.
For more information go to hilton.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
Autumn 2007 is now confirmed as the launch date for Eurostar's services from London St Pancras to Paris and Brussels. At the same time as St Pancras comes on line, the high-speed train operator will close its existing Waterloo terminal. When it moved to St Pancras it had been thought that Eurostar would seize the opportunity to emulate its airline rivals and go ticketless. But it's not now going to happen straightaway.
"How do you define e-ticketing?" Richard Brown, Eurostar's chief executive, told Business Traveller, "in practice we're pretty close to it now. Passengers using our ticketing machines, key in their reference and get a ticket. That ticket is their boarding card. [Ticketless airlines still provide passengers with a boarding card]. But, you are right, we are looking at getting rid of the boarding pass altogether but the system won't be ready when we open up at St Pancras. Ideally, we believe a 'swipe device' would be attractive for our business passengers."
Using St Pancras will enable Eurostar to cut timings by 20 minutes as it will run on high-speed tracks all the way to the Channel Tunnel. In the longer term Eurostar is looking to realise its potential to feed more passengers into the European rail network. It is extending its Railteam alliance with high-speed firm Thalys (which operates from Paris to Amsterdam and Cologne via Brussels) to include rail companies in a number of countries including Germany, France, Holland and Belgium.
At present it is difficult if not impossible to obtain through tickets (and therefore beneficial fares) on Eurostar into mainland Europe with the chief exception of France (presumably because SNCF, the French national rail operator, is a main shareholder in Eurostar). One reason is because the national rail operators have developed their own ticketing and accountancy systems.
By contrast the airlines are well ahead in terms of co-operation and ticketing. Admits Richard Brown, "the [conventional] airlines started with IATA [an industry trade body] and GDS [booking] systems and these were brokers of common standards and presentation."
There is a growing number of high-speed lines but there are ticketing issues between the rail firms. "The challenge for us," says Richard Brown, "is to present this as a network with seamless connections, through fares, through ticketing and common standards. Where Eurostar has been able to co-operate with national rail systems we've seen strong passenger growth."
One of the first benefits to be seen is the incorporation of the useful Thalys high-speed links into the Eurostar booking system. Richard Brown confirms this move will take effect from the autumn and it will enable passengers leaving London to, for example, connect with Thalys at Brussels for Cologne or Amsterdam. It will also enable them to bridge the gap (with Thalys) when booking a two city trip covering Brussels and Paris.
For more information go to eurostar.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
Hilton opens Canary Wharf hotel
London's up-and-coming Canary Wharf commercial and financial area now has a 283-room Hilton hotel. The £53 million property opened on June 26 and is already doing good business during the week. Located next to South Quay DLR (Docklands Light Railway) station and a short walk to the Jubilee line Canary Wharf station the 15-floor hotel is easily accessible from the capital's City and West End. The most convenient airports are London City (ten minutes drive) and Stansted (forty to fifty minutes drive on a good day).
It's the first of three Hilton "new look" properties scheduled to open in the UK this year all of which are contemporary in style. Main features of the Hilton Canary Wharf include a 55-room executive section (including 23 junior suites) occupying the property's top three floors with splendid views over the city. A spacious lounge provides breakfast, light meals and drinks throughout the day. There's free wifi within the executive lounge (but not the rooms) and in the hotel's public areas.
Rooms are spacious (30 to 35 sq metres) with quality bathrooms, flat screen TVs and other modern features including precisely controlled air-conditioning. There's a single restaurant and bar, Cinnamon, serving fresh and sophisticated food and drink. A Living Well Express health club comes without a pool but is open only to hotel guests.
Room rates reflect midweek (rather than weekend) occupancy bias. For a stay next Tuesday (July 11), hilton.com quoted an online Value rate (this comes with restrictions) of £197 with a Flexible rate of £219. Executive floor rates were £242 and £269 respectively.
But it was a different matter at the weekend. For a stay on Saturday July 15, hilton.com quoted £89 and £99 respectively for normal rooms with executive accommodation priced at £134 and £149. All rates are subject to 17.5 per cent tax.
The two other Hiltons opening this year are the 245-room Hilton London Tower Bridge scheduled for September and the Hilton Manchester Deansgate due to open in October.
Hilton London Canary Wharf, South Quay, Marsh Wall, London E14 9SH. Tel +44 (0)20 3002 2300.
For more information go to hilton.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
