Thalys becomes Eurostar. The provider of high-speed trains from Amsterdam, Brussels and Dortmund to Paris will have the same name as the fast trains to London within two to three years.
Thalys and Eurostar already announced in September 2019 that they want to go together. Due to the corona crisis, the talks were temporarily halted. Now the shareholders have agreed and the proposal is before the works council and trade unions. The headquarters of the merged company will be in Brussels.
Both providers have the same major shareholder, the French railway company SNCF. Thalys, founded in 1995, is 70 percent French-owned; the Belgian railway company NMBS owns 30 percent. NS is a ‘strategic partner’, but has no shares.
Eurostar (1994) is 55 percent owned by SNCF. In 2015, the British government transferred its 40% share to two investment funds (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Federated Hermes). The NMBS owns 5 percent of Eurostar.
Also read: Shareholders save Eurostar train company from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Both high-speed rail operators have been hit hard by the pandemic and travel restrictions over the past year and a half. In May, shareholders saved Eurostar from bankruptcy with an emergency package of 290 million euros. Thalys had to borrow money to survive the crisis.
The joint company has a fleet of around fifty high-speed trains. Before the pandemic, in 2019, they had a total turnover of 1.5 billion euros. Before the crisis, the companies transported almost 19 million travelers a year. That should now grow to 30 million a year, they previously reported.
International high-speed trains are seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to short flights in Europe. According to Thalys a one-way Amsterdam-Paris by train generates 3.5 kg of CO2emissions per passenger; the car is good for roughly twelve times as much CO2; the plane nearly twenty times as much.
Thalys becomes Eurostar. The provider of high-speed trains from Amsterdam, Brussels and Dortmund to Paris will have the same name as the fast trains to London within two to three years.
Thalys and Eurostar already announced in September 2019 that they want to go together. Due to the corona crisis, the talks were temporarily halted. Now the shareholders have agreed and the proposal is before the works council and trade unions. The headquarters of the merged company will be in Brussels.
Both providers have the same major shareholder, the French railway company SNCF. Thalys, founded in 1995, is 70 percent French-owned; the Belgian railway company NMBS owns 30 percent. NS is a ‘strategic partner’, but has no shares.
Eurostar (1994) is 55 percent owned by SNCF. In 2015, the British government transferred its 40% share to two investment funds (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Federated Hermes). The NMBS owns 5 percent of Eurostar.
Also read: Shareholders save Eurostar train company from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Both high-speed rail operators have been hit hard by the pandemic and travel restrictions over the past year and a half. In May, shareholders saved Eurostar from bankruptcy with an emergency package of 290 million euros. Thalys had to borrow money to survive the crisis.
The joint company has a fleet of around fifty high-speed trains. Before the pandemic, in 2019, they had a total turnover of 1.5 billion euros. Before the crisis, the companies transported almost 19 million travelers a year. That should now grow to 30 million a year, they previously reported.
International high-speed trains are seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to short flights in Europe. According to Thalys a one-way Amsterdam-Paris by train generates 3.5 kg of CO2emissions per passenger; the car is good for roughly twelve times as much CO2; the plane nearly twenty times as much.
Thalys becomes Eurostar. The provider of high-speed trains from Amsterdam, Brussels and Dortmund to Paris will have the same name as the fast trains to London within two to three years.
Thalys and Eurostar already announced in September 2019 that they want to go together. Due to the corona crisis, the talks were temporarily halted. Now the shareholders have agreed and the proposal is before the works council and trade unions. The headquarters of the merged company will be in Brussels.
Both providers have the same major shareholder, the French railway company SNCF. Thalys, founded in 1995, is 70 percent French-owned; the Belgian railway company NMBS owns 30 percent. NS is a ‘strategic partner’, but has no shares.
Eurostar (1994) is 55 percent owned by SNCF. In 2015, the British government transferred its 40% share to two investment funds (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Federated Hermes). The NMBS owns 5 percent of Eurostar.
Also read: Shareholders save Eurostar train company from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Both high-speed rail operators have been hit hard by the pandemic and travel restrictions over the past year and a half. In May, shareholders saved Eurostar from bankruptcy with an emergency package of 290 million euros. Thalys had to borrow money to survive the crisis.
The joint company has a fleet of around fifty high-speed trains. Before the pandemic, in 2019, they had a total turnover of 1.5 billion euros. Before the crisis, the companies transported almost 19 million travelers a year. That should now grow to 30 million a year, they previously reported.
International high-speed trains are seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to short flights in Europe. According to Thalys a one-way Amsterdam-Paris by train generates 3.5 kg of CO2emissions per passenger; the car is good for roughly twelve times as much CO2; the plane nearly twenty times as much.
Thalys becomes Eurostar. The provider of high-speed trains from Amsterdam, Brussels and Dortmund to Paris will have the same name as the fast trains to London within two to three years.
Thalys and Eurostar already announced in September 2019 that they want to go together. Due to the corona crisis, the talks were temporarily halted. Now the shareholders have agreed and the proposal is before the works council and trade unions. The headquarters of the merged company will be in Brussels.
Both providers have the same major shareholder, the French railway company SNCF. Thalys, founded in 1995, is 70 percent French-owned; the Belgian railway company NMBS owns 30 percent. NS is a ‘strategic partner’, but has no shares.
Eurostar (1994) is 55 percent owned by SNCF. In 2015, the British government transferred its 40% share to two investment funds (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Federated Hermes). The NMBS owns 5 percent of Eurostar.
Also read: Shareholders save Eurostar train company from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Both high-speed rail operators have been hit hard by the pandemic and travel restrictions over the past year and a half. In May, shareholders saved Eurostar from bankruptcy with an emergency package of 290 million euros. Thalys had to borrow money to survive the crisis.
The joint company has a fleet of around fifty high-speed trains. Before the pandemic, in 2019, they had a total turnover of 1.5 billion euros. Before the crisis, the companies transported almost 19 million travelers a year. That should now grow to 30 million a year, they previously reported.
International high-speed trains are seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to short flights in Europe. According to Thalys a one-way Amsterdam-Paris by train generates 3.5 kg of CO2emissions per passenger; the car is good for roughly twelve times as much CO2; the plane nearly twenty times as much.