Eurostar: The World's Most Complex Train

April, 2007

Growing up in Scotland in the 1940s was a period of uncertainty and anxiety. As a schoolboy attending a prestigious Academy for Boys I learned a lot about the world. One of the important facts that I remember was that Great Britain was separated from the European Continent by that awesome body of water known as The English Channel. Yes, one could travel by a combination of rail and ferry from London to Paris. It was the better part of a full day journey, and as I recall it was expensive. We felt very safe in many ways from the perils of WWII by having the Channel as almost a wall. To even consider the possibility of building a tunnel underneath for high-speed trains to travel from England to the continent was never considered. Or, was it? Well, that's another story.

As a travel professional I have had the privilege of seeing much of the world and experiencing most modes of travel; however, shortly after the inauguration of EUROSTAR in the 1990s from London's Waterloo International Station to Gare du Nord in the heart of Paris I was invited to experience the world's most complex train. To be able to travel underneath the English Channel in total rail luxury was going to be a total high for this Scottish schoolboy who fell in love with trains when his father would take him every Saturday morning to our town's small railroad station. My journey from London to Paris was magnificent. As the train entered the tunnel for the 19.5 minute journey at 100 mph my breath skipped a few beats. I remember looking up and realizing that millions of tons of water were overhead. It was one of my lifelong thrills and one of the reasons why I chose a travel career. As has been stated many times..TRAVEL IS A CAREER SECOND TO NONE.

EUROSTAR trains comprise 18 coaches. The trains, at 394 metres (1,293 ft), are almost a quarter of a mile long. Eurostar runs at 186 mph on Europe's high-speed lines, but is restricted to below 100 mph in England. Today, it is considered faster to take EUROSTAR from the heart of London to the heart of Paris (3 hours 30 minutes) than to fly, considering the to/from airport hassle plus security. Since my first trip I have returned a number of times to take the same journey. To repeat myself, it's an awesome experience.

It's a not-to-be-missed experience for the rail aficionado - and everyone else!

-Doug