Reply to French Senator’s question about suspension of Eurostar’s intermediate train stops
A French Senator has received a reply to her question regarding the suspension of Eurostar services at Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International and Calais-Fréthun.
Mme Sophie Briante Guillemont, who is entitled to question the French government on behalf of French nationals living outside France, chose to raise the issue of Eurostar’s behaviour towards intermediate station stops since the end of the pandemic. Eurostar is majority-owned by the French state railway SNCF. We first reported on Mme Briante Guillemont’s initiative in May.
The full text of the question, and the reply it received on 16th July, is available in French here.
The French government’s reply could have been written by Eurostar themselves. Far from representing our demands, the government has chosen to defend the company’s position citing financial pressures arising from the pandemic, and the tighter border controls imposed by the Shengen Zone.
Issues of the increased burden on French nationals living in Kent, and of the greater sustainability of rail over air transport, remain unaddressed.
Intergovernmental cooperation
The reply does point out that top-level cooperation between the UK and French governments will be needed to manage the juxtaposed border controls that would enable international trains to return to the intermediate stations tops will require t.
As a campaign, this gives us something to work on. Mme Briante Guillemont has agreed to work with BBET to get more answers on the French side.
Category: BBET Campaign
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