17 April 2019

Eurostar mobile tickets can now be saved on Google Pay

Eurostar, the high-speed passenger rail service linking the UK with mainland Europe, is offering travellers a new way to organize and manage paperless tickets, by adding the ability to buy and save mobile tickets on Google Pay in a world first for any international rail company.
 
Travellers using Google Pay on Android L or higher devices can now simply save their mobile ticket to Google Pay from the Eurostar app, and proceed directly to ticket gates at Eurostar stations for a more seamless start to their journey.

The new option for travellers aims to further increase the use of mobile tickets, as part of Eurostar’s plans to reduce paper usage by 50% by 2020. Since 2018, the amount of paper tickets printed in stations has been reduced by one third, and now accounts for just 10% of all Eurostar tickets.
 
Perrine Allain, Head of Digital, Eurostar, said: “We are working to provide an effortless travel experience for all our customers, and by enabling paperless tickets to be stored on Google Pay, we hope that more travellers will be encouraged to switch from printing paper. High-speed rail is already an environmentally friendly option for short-haul international travel and encouraging more of our customers to use paperless tickets helps further reduce our impact on the environment.”
 
Enabling mobile tickets to be saved via Google Pay is the latest in a range of digital improvements from Eurostar. Earlier this year, Eurostar also made  updates to the Eurostar app to help provide users with a new ‘arrival’ state. The update added features including public transport maps for the destination city and the ability to book tickets to attractions. Travellers can now find the lowest available fare using Eurostar’s Fare Finder available on Google Home and Google Assistant.
    
The Eurostar app can be downloaded through Google Play.
 
More details on Eurostar’s Tread Lightly plan to reduce its carbon footprint can be found here:
https://www.eurostar-treadlightly.com/en/tread-lightly-10-point-plan.php
 

 
For more information:
Eurostar Press Office 
020 7843 5500
press.office@eurostar.co.uk
 
About Eurostar

1. Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon, the French Alps, Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
2. The current Eurostar train was first introduced into service in 1994 carrying 750 passengers and operating at speeds of up to 300kph.  Since then, the fleet of 28 trains has carried more than 150 million passengers between London and the Continent.  Following their refurbishment these trains will continue to form a core part of the Eurostar fleet. The new e320 will carry around 900 passengers at speeds of up to 320kph.
3. Eurostar was established in 1994 as a partnership between three railway companies: SNCF, SNCB and LCR (London and Continental Railways). On 1 September 2010, Eurostar became a single, unified corporate entity owned by three shareholders: SNCF, SNCB and LCR. LCR’s holding was transferred to the Treasury in 2014, and sold by the UK government to a consortium comprising Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) and Hermes Infrastructure on 28th May 2015.
4. Eurostar is a founder member of Railteam, a partnership between Europe’s leading high-speed train operators that is developing simpler ways to book and travel on the fast-expanding, European high-speed rail network.
5. Eurostar and Eurotunnel are entirely separate companies.  Eurostar operates high-speed passenger trains, while Eurotunnel operates vehicle shuttle services and the Channel Tunnel itself. Eurostar is Eurotunnel’s biggest customer.