Rail companies such as “Eurostar“ and “Great rail journeys“ have enjoyed huge rises in ticket sales and numbers of passengers mainly due to changes in the way people have started to think about rail travel and concerns about the environment. Increased security alerts, as a result of the terrorist attacks in July 2005, were the original reason for people switching to rail transport and turning their backs on the airline companies yet a recent change in the attitude of passengers has fuelled a continual increase in people travelling by train. Indeed, whereas people used to prefer the convenience of other modes of transport, many travellers have illustrated that the environment is a growing factor in their choice of transport. The days of believing that train travel is simply an expensive, inconvenient, unreliable and sub-standard way of travelling seem to be in the past. Its image has changed.
Recently-conducted independent research suggested that a passenger who flies between London, Brussels and Paris is likely to generate 10 times as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than a passenger who uses the train. Simon Montague, Eurostar¨s communications director, has stressed that passengers" concern about the environment is expected to be an increasing reason for people to use Eurostar trains in the future.
Between July and September this year, Eurostar has enjoyed a passenger increase of 9.9%, i.e. 2.15 million people, therefore creating a record number of passengers for the company. As a result, profits have been up by 21%, totalling GBP 130.4 million. This rise has been helped by 91.4% of trains being on time. Similarly, UK surveys have indicated that only 7% of passengers on long distance services were not satisfied.
Such increases have not only been enjoyed by Eurostar. Great Railway Journey, a company also operating out of Waterloo has seen an 85% growth in sales for the period August –September in comparison with last year. The growth in rail users is expected to continue in 2007.