3, 2, 1 ... Let's go: Tips and top spots for travel in 2007
The high-speed Eurostar systems between London and Paris will finally be realized in November with the completion of a new rail bed through southeastern England. Eurostar also gets a new London home at the stately St. Pancras rail station. The new service will cut the travel time between London and Paris to one hour, 51 minutes. Meanwhile, in London, o2, the onetime Millennium Dome, will reopen as an entertainment complex.
Luxembourg (the city and country) and Sibiu, Romania, will be the co-European Cities of Culture for 2007, with a series of arts and music exhibitions and events sponsored by the European Union.
Berlin's famed Tempelhof Airport, built by the Nazis and later used by the U.S.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/16517694.htm

Eurostar profits surge thanks to 'Da Vinci Code' effect
The success of The Da Vinci Code film led to soaring sales for Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar in 2006, it has been announced.
The thriller movie, set in London and Paris and promoted by Eurostar, helped the company record an 11 per cent increase in sales to 518 million last year.
The company, which operates to Paris and Brussels from London's Waterloo station, carried 7.85 million passengers in 2006 - an increase of more than five per cent on the 2005 total.
Business traveller numbers rose 17 per cent and the number of trains on time improved from 86.3 per cent in 2005 to 91.5 per cent last year.
Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23381350-details/Eurostar+profits+surge+thanks+to+'Da+Vinci+Code'+effect/article.do
Eurostar back on track
Eurostar confirmed a full recovery from the aftermath of the July 7 bombings today as it announced record sales.
The cross-channel train service suffered a dip in customer growth following the attacks two years ago, as tourists stayed away from London and continental Europe.
Eurostar said it had overcome the slump to post revenues of 518.3m last year, an increase of 11.7% on 2005. Passenger numbers on the London-Paris-Brussels service rose 5.4% to 7.85 million, double the rate of growth in the previous year.
Article continuesRichard Brown, Eurostar chief executive, said an improvement in punctuality - which resulted in nine out of ten trains arrving on time - had helped win back customers.
Source: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1988127,00.html
Eurostar enjoys a green boost
Eurostar today reported that it carried 7.85m passengers in 2006, 410,000 more than in the previous year, a leap of 5.4%.
That sent revenues through the pound;500m level for the first time with sales up 11.7% at pound;518m, hastening the day the train operator can say that it makes a profit.
It has been deep in the red since its first trip under the Channel 13 years ago.
Much of the growth is coming in business class where passenger numbers jumped by 17%.
"'We have seen the big environmental impact, especially over the last six months, icirc; said Eurostar director Simon Montague.
"'Big corporates like HSBC and PwC have taken decisions about being carbon neutral and that is changing their travel programmes.
Source: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/investing-and-markets/article.html?in_article_id=416304&in_page_id=3
Europe cleans up after killer storm
The Eurostar service between Britain and continental Europe has been restored in full. London's London Bridge station reopened after being closed when part of a roof collapsed.
Source: http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Kingdom/10098189.html
What a ferry good idea
YOU might think there are only two ways of getting to Paris: catch a cheap flight or hop on a Eurostar.
And then you stay in a city centre hotel. But there is, as a certain Prime Minister once argued, a third way, and I reckon it beats the other two options hands-down.
Drive for an hour from York to Hull, and you can embark on a P O ferry and spend a night cruising across the North Sea before embarking at Zeebrugge for breakfast. Then a three-hour drives takes you to a campsite in the countryside outside the French capital, equipped with superb swimming and other recreational facilities.
From here, you can take day trips into the capital and also to Disneyland Paris, before driving north again to spend a couple of days on another site near Amsterdam.
Source: http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/redir.php?from=ec&to=1136853&l=what_a_ferry_good_idea
Airport woes boost Eurostar sales
Tightened airline security and foggy weather at UK airports in December, which caused widespread disruption to flights, helped lift Eurostar.
The firm forecast that demand for its services would remain strong in 2007.
"We expect 2007 to be another good year," said chief executive Richard Brown, adding that the Tour de France in July and the France-hosted Rugby World Cup in the autumn were already generating strong demand.
When launched, Eurostar was owned by French state-run railway operator SNCF, Belgium's SNCB and British Rail.
The UK interests are currently held by Eurostar UK.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6250977.stm
Eurostar sees record sales
EUROSTAR, the train operator running services to Europe through the Channel Tunnel, said today that it achieved record sales in 2006, with sales rising 11.7 per cent to £518.3 million.
Passenger numbers for the operator, whose trains link London with Paris and Brussels, were up 5.4 per cent to 7.85m.
The group said it expected just as strong a performance over 2007.
Eurostar said it had benefited from increased security at airports and foggy weather in Britain.
Related topics
Channel Tunnel
http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=508The railways
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=168 This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/business.
Source: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=56762007
Eurostar, Taxes and Michael O'Leary
Bad news for airlines in Europe -- Eurostar saw record sales and traveler numbers in 2006 as it attracted thousands more travelers from the airlines. Sales topped half a billion pounds for the first time, rising 11.7% from £463.8 million to £518.3 million. In total 7.85 million travelers chose Eurostar in 2006, up 5.4 % on 2005. Leisure traveler numbers rose by 4.5%, while the largest increase was in business traveler numbers, rising over 17% and generating an 18% increase in business sales revenue. Eurostar continues to see strong year-on-year growth. It is now carrying 28% more travelers than in the 12 months before the opening in September 2003 of the first section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, now named High Speed 1.
Source: http://iagblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/eurostar-taxes-and-michael-oleary.html
Air travel troubles benefit Eurostar
Eurostar enjoyed its best year yet in 2006 as the increasing stress of air travel and the damage it does to the environment persuaded more business travellers to switch to the high-speed rail service to Paris and Brussels.
A record 7.85 million passengers travelled on Eurostar - 5 per cent up on the previous year - while sales rose nearly 12 per cent to top pound;500m for the first time.
A spokesman said that an estimated 1,000 business passengers a week were switching from plane to train because of increased airport security and the general hassle of air travel.
He also said the environmentally friendly nature of rail was of growing importance to big corporate customers such as banks and multinationals who were looking to cut their carbon emissions.
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2145181.ece
Travellers suffer in storm's wake
But there was better news for Eurostar passengers, with the Channel Tunnel high-speed train company able to run a full service, except for one early Paris to London train which was cancelled. Severe weather in northern France had led to a suspension of Eurostar's London to Paris and Brussels services in the second half of Thursday.
A severely-reduced service was operating on GNER's East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh while an emergency timetable was in operation on the Virgin West Coast main line. GNER spokesman Alan Hyde said: "We have been working hard to ensure that our trains and crews are in the right places to run as normal a service as possible.
Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=33852&in_page_id=34&in_a_source=
Eurostar's record year as travellers switch from planes
Eurostar's record year as travellers switch from planes
Eurostar is reporting record ticket sales and passenger numbers for 2006 ndash; claiming thousands of people chose its trains over flying to the Continent.
Sales of tickets for the company rsquo;s high-speed trains to France and Belgium topped half a billion pounds for the first time, rising 11.7 per cent from pound;463.8 million to pound;518.3m.
In total 7.85 million travellers chose Eurostar in 2006, and increase of 5.4 per cent on 2005.
Leisure traveller numbers rose by 4.5 per cent, while the largest increase was in business traveller numbers, rising by more than 17 per cent.
Source: http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Eurostar_s-record-year-as-travellers-switch-from-planes-newsinkent2539.aspx