Cross-channel rail operator Eurostar has started selling tickets for its festive services with extra trains introduced to cope with surging demand.
Seats are available from just £39 one way for the Christmas timetable, which will operate from December 12 to January 8. The schedule will feature nine daily return services on weekdays between London and Paris, five between London and Brussels and two between London and Amsterdam.
All passengers must continue to wear a face covering on board trains, even if they have been fully vaccinated.
Eurostar has said it is seeing a return of people taking weekend breaks, with a 105 per cent rise recorded in August and September trips between London and Paris compared with the same period last year.
More than four out of five bookings are attributed to leisure or visiting friends and family. The busiest travel day of the year so far is expected on Friday when Eurostar will operate 15 services to handle a hike in demand to coincide with the school half-term break.
Last year, Eurostar warned it was “fighting for its survival against a 95 per cent drop in demand” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It operated just two return services a day for several months in 2020 compared to a daily timetable of 56 trains before the pandemic.
Eurostar is 55 per cent owned by French state rail company SNCF. The UK Government sold its stake to private firms for £757 million in 2015.
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