News: French strike action could hit Eurostar launch
Flights > News > # 1557 (02/11/2007)
The the French railway unions are set to hijack the inauguration of Eurostar’s faster rail service from London to Paris later this month.
The unions have called a strike on November 13, the eve of the move from Waterloo to St Pancras. Previous industrial action on October 18 caused chaos for thousands of England rugby fans trying to get to the World Cup final against South Africa.
Eurostar, which had to cancel some of its trains during that strike, said it expects to run all services normally on November 14, although the company acknowledged that onward travel would be very difficult.
The new high speed line has been built by London and Continental Railways between the Channel tunnel and St Pancras. It will allow trains to reach full speed in Britain – until now this was possible only on the other side of the Channel – and will shave 20 minutes off the old route from Waterloo. Passengers will get to Paris in just 2hr 15min and to Brussels in 1hr 51min.
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