michaelnewpoort cannot speak or write, he communicates with copy/paste
articles.
he does not think, he is a greg morrow.
"Bill Tong" a écrit dans le message de
news:31666c60-3e42-4c15-af39-4fab5d42ed55@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/air-france-to-launch-quicker-train-to-paris-as-eurostar-monopoly-ends-925578.html
>
> Air France to launch 'quicker' train to Paris as Eurostar monopoly
> ends
>
> By Michael Savage
> Thursday, 11 September 2008
> Eurostar's monopoly from St Pancras will end in 2010
>
> Fares and journey times for passengers travelling to Europe could fall
> in just two years after an announcement by Air France that it is to
> compete with Eurostar by running a high-speed rail service to Paris.
>
> The trip from London could take less than two hours under the
> company's plan to bring a new generation of high-speed trains to St
> Pancras station. They will be capable of a maximum speed of 224mph,
> 38mph faster than the current top speed of trains running to France.
>
> Eurostar's monopoly will come to an end at the start of 2010, when new
> "open access" laws come into force.
>
> The economic downturn has hit airlines hard, while the popularity of
> high-speed rail travel has been booming. Eurostar saw passenger
> numbers rise by 18 per cent in the first half of this year.
>
> Eurostar came out fighting last night, saying that it welcomed
> competition and interest from airlines "had been expected". It added
> that airlines had "a lot to learn" before they could compete.
>
> "This shows that airlines now realise that high-speed rail is
> increasingly the natural choice for business and leisure journeys
> across Europe," a spokesman said.
>
> "It's no surprise that airlines hit by high oil prices and congested
> airports are trying to turn themselves into train operators. We will
> continue to compete with them whether they use wings or wheels."
>
> It was also dismissive of Air France's claims that it could reach
> Paris in under two hours, saying that the current top speed of 186mph
> had been introduced because of the limitations of the track, rather
> than its train's capabilities.
>
> But a source involved in the development of St Pancras' track
> disagreed. "It is no longer the track that is holding back train
> speeds, but the trains," said the source. "With a few modifications
> and testing, I see no reason why the new generation of TGV trains
> cannot run on the track."
>
> Air France-KLM, which is also planning a service between Paris and
> Amsterdam, said it hoped to launch its London to Paris service by
> October 2010.
>
> An industry insider said: "Just imagine arriving at the station and
> being able to pick from destinations from all over Europe such as
> Prague, Cologne and Frankfurt. Competition will be great news for
> consumers."
>
> Virgin Atlantic is also thought to be interested in setting up a
> European high-speed rail service under the liberalisation plan, while
> the German operator Deutsche Bahn has expressed interest in running a
> service from London to Cologne. From there, passengers would have easy
> access to cities including Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin and
> Hamburg.
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