9 September 2024
London, September 9, 2024 - The summer of sport is coming to an end: the Paralympic athletes were festively welcomed this afternoon in St Pancras station, where they arrived by Eurostar, the official transport partner of Paralympics GB.
With this historic moment, Eurostar closes a sporting season which saw 1.9 million customers taken to the Olympic and Paralympic Games – a 5% uplift on last summer.
Renowned Belgian athletes including Hannah Cockcroft, Maisie Summers-Newton, Tully Kearney and Matt Bush boarded the Eurostar to London this afternoon. In addition to the athletes and their teams, across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Eurostar carried the 129 British medals (including 31 bronzes, 44 silver and 49 gold) won throughout the competition. In total, the countries connected by Eurostar won 318 medals (including 112 gold), won by Belgian, Dutch, British, French and German athletes in Paris.
The Games, synonymous with an exceptional summer for Eurostar
Eurostar is the official transport partner of the Olympic teams from Great Britain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as the Paralympic teams from Belgium, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Key figures for Eurostar this summer:
1.9 million passengers (+5% vs. same period last year) chose Eurostar to cheer on their favorite athlete throughout the Games.
In total for both the Olympics and Paralympics, Eurostar transported 7 teams and around 2,000 athletes and team members sustainably on over 900 trains with 6 dedicated trains for their return.
Today is an iconic moment as we see over 500 Paralympians and staff returning from the 2024 Paris Paralympics with 318 medals won by countries connected by Eurostar.
Eurostar’s special ‘Golden Train’ - the icon of sustainable travel to Paris 2024 – transported teams and fans across the network.
Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar CEO, is delighted with this summer's results: “During this amazing summer of sport, Eurostar has met our objective to welcome nearly two million customers on board during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. [We have seen high demand with a particularly strong increase in passenger numbers from Brussels].
“Eurostar was able to once again make the difference for its customers with its unique experience across five countries, offering the greenest travel option for athletes and fans alike. The Paralympics were also an opportunity to improve our services, as we ensure we build a legacy to make travel more accessible for everyone who wants to enjoy more of Europe.”
Legacy of the Paralympic Games
The Paris Paralympic Games and Eurostar's partnerships with the Belgian, Dutch and British paralympic teams have provided a unique opportunity to improve the assistance provided by Eurostar to disabled customers, and to enhance its services over the long term.
To help achieve this, Eurostar has worked closely with the Paralympic teams to ensure a long-term, sustainable legacy, as well as works with a panel of customers with accessible travel needs.
Improvements include a review of handling assistance requests and the entire start-to-end journey for customers.
As well as deploying more staff in stations, specific training sessions for station staff have been held to enhance the welcome process for disabled travellers.
Eurostar has also optimised its website so that it can be used by screen readers, screen magnifiers, keyboard only, voice activation and users can customise screens (font size, color scheme, contrast).
Dave Clarke, CEO of ParalympicsGB, said: “Athletes are at the heart of everything we do and travelling with Eurostar with the incredible enthusiasm and professionalism of their employees is a great way for them to end their Paris 2024 Paralympic Games experience.
“Our wider delegation has told me they have been made to feel really special from the moment they arrive at St Pancras right through to disembarking in the heart of Paris at Gare du Nord.
“With environmental sustainability being a key consideration in our planning for all future Paralympic games having the option to travel by rail has meant we can make meaningful progress in reducing our carbon footprint for Paris 2024.”
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About Eurostar
Eurostar's ambition is to carry 30 million passengers a year by 2030, and thus become the backbone of sustainable travel in Europe. With a fleet of 51 trains, Eurostar offers the largest international high-speed network in Western Europe, serving 28 destinations in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK. In 2024, Eurostar announced its intention to buy up to 50 new trainsets.
In 2023, Eurostar carried 18.6 million passengers. Eurostar is owned by SNCF Voyages Développement (55.75%), a subsidiary of SNCF Voyageurs, CDPQ (19.31%), SNCB (18.50%) and funds managed by Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%).
By choosing the train, CO2 emissions are reduced by an average of 90% compared with a journey by petrol-powered car, and by 95% compared with a journey by air*.
*Results of an independent study carried out by EcoRES S.C.R.I., July 2023.