I am a regular Eurostar traveller and I travel mostly as a Leisure Select (Business Class) passenger. From London to Poitiers it IS possible to take the plane direct for around £40 (sometimes even cheaper). Nonetheless, for a longer, less convenient (have to change in Paris or Lille), and more expensive journey, I have always made the CHOICE of Eurostar, based on service and environmental differences.

BUT there is a limit. It is now almost impossible to get to this destination (and many others too) for less than £230 in Leisure Select, which although described as a lower business class fare, does not even allow you lounge access.

Given that we are in the worst recession in a generation, and given Eurostar's monopoly, shouldn't someone be doing something to compel it to reduce its prices, thereby enticing more people to travel with them, which will serve the double benefit of lowering CO2 airline emissions and increase passenger numbers so Eurostar may meet its targets?

I fear that this suggestion will fall on deaf ears in the 'engine room' of Eurostar. This is sad because, despite being a cardholding, longstanding customer of this great mode of travel, Eurostar has now priced itself out of the market - It has actually raised its fares recently, despite claiming to have lowered them - I have now booked two return flights to Poitiers with Ryanair for a short weekend in September and a week in October - the cost of both flights was less than half the cost of one return Eurostar trip!

What makes this even more depressing is that, in 15 years of travelling Eurostar I have never, not once seen the entire train full to capacity. Why doesn't the competition commission and the government do something about this sorry state for a great railway service?

>Why doesn't the competition commission and the government do something about this sorry state for a great railway service?

Because as you stated in your opening paragraph, you have a CHOICE.

Frankly if you compare price for leisure/first on Eurostar/TGV with standard cattle on Ryanair you're always going to find it a difficult circle to square. What is the trip time? 5 hours and a bit, including transfer from Nord to Montparnasse? If you're already in London, and depending on how you view these things do it by Standard man. OK it'll still cost double the Ryanair fare you state, but then you need to get to/from the airports and check in blah, blah, blah, but the one time Ryanair pull a flight or change the times, just because, and you only find out at the airport, you'll wonder why you ever bothered.

I travel to/from Nice by Eurostar/TGV 15-18 times per year, never paid more than £80 for the return ticket. I'd take it over flying every time (BA do have a very good, reliable and not too expensive service) even though it takes around three hours more door-to-door.

In the four years I've been doing that I've had one journey pulled, because of SNCF strike action, which I had advanced notice of and a full refund (try getting that from Ryanair).

>Given that we are in the worst recession in a generation, and given Eurostar's monopoly

Should have added, that is coming to an end next year with, possibly, DB Railways, Air France and others rolling out services, but not sure how, when, from/to or indication of pricing.

Yep Eurostar loses its monopoly in December - HOWEVER - there is unlikely to be a rival in place for at least another three years at least, mainly due to getting permissions, licences, rolling stock, time slots etc in place....so eurostar will continue to fleece everyone who travels with them - so much for building loyalty!

Huh? £80 from London to Nice return - please do tell me where and how you book that kind of fare?

I'm assuming that's standard class? I can't even get London Poitiers return in standard for less than £150!

It takes planning. For buying tickets I always book five or six journeys or as many as I can as far advanced as I can (typically up to four months), at the Rail Europe shop in Lower Regent Street, NOT online. Always better to deal with a human being, especially when you want better prices.

Of course I have to be flexible. I nearly always have to change at Lille. Not necessarily a bad thing, but typically there is a two-hour wait (I go shopping or for dinner depending on the time of day), making the overall journey longer.

I have to be flexible on the days I travel, but as I'm booking in advance I can get my act together, so not a problem, and of course I have to be flexible on departure time, but if time was of the essence, I'd fly.

Of course, it's Standard class. There is no point travelling Leisure (unless someone else is paying, of course!). Think about it. 1hr 20 mins to Lille. In Standard class? Two or three times a week I stand on far worse trains for 50-60minutes, each way, just to get to London. Standard on Eurostar is luxury by comparisson. There is still 6 hours on the TGV for me, but the seating is generally better, and I dislike flying THAT much.

For your benefit. London-Poitiers 01/11/09 depart 11:01, Poitiers to London 08/11/09 depart 07:33, if you book online with Rail Europe now, Standard, £79.00. 4hrs 51mins going out. To be honest I don't see how you can consider travelling to and from airports, presumably by some form of public transport (assuming that neither of your homes are within walking distance!!!), being more convenient than going from Nord to Montparnasse on one Metro train. Of course, you need to get to St Pancras/Ebbsfleet/Ashford, but still.

Eurostar made no secret of the fact that they put fares up following the opening of HS1. The service is faster and more reliable (surely as an old hand you remember the grind through south London and disruptions because of other services failing). I believe for the money the service is fantastic.

DB Railways expect to have services running in 2012. Of course their presence wont necessarially help you get to Poitiers quicker or cheaper as the DB services will run to Cologne and Frankfurt, unless they can put together a deal with SNCF that gets you changing at Calais or Lille and undercuts the Eurostar tie-in...unlikely.

> Given that we are in the worst recession in a
> generation

.. and you still want to take Business Class?

I didn't know Eurostar were even ON the rails.