French Government Ready To Help Eurostar Train Operators

Eurostar fleet. (Source: Eurostar)

JAKARTA - The French government is said to be ready to assist the Eurostar train operator that connects England, France, the Netherlands and Belgium which are currently experiencing financial difficulties. The reason is the COVID-19 and Brexit pandemic.

This was said by French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari in a parliamentary session. According to him, the government will help Eurostar to maintain strategic relations between France-Britain.

"We are in the process of working with the UK on an assistance mechanism for the Eurostar that is proportional to the involvement of each party. So as to ensure the financial sustainability of the company's business model," he told Euronews.

Djebbari said he and his partner UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps had been discussing the issue for several weeks. The UK's Department of Transport told Euronews that there was currently no agreement. However, there are discussions on the financial situation of Eurostar with the French Government.

Previously, Eurostar had warned of the possibility that they would go bankrupt by the end of this spring, if the British and French governments did not come to their rescue.

Meanwhile, the CEO of SNCF, the French state-owned rail company that controls 53 percent of Eurostar, told Radio France Inter last Tuesday that the condition of Eurostar is very critical.

The number of Eurostar passengers is said to have decreased by 95 percent since March last year. Even now it is believed that there is less than 1 percent left compared to before the pandemic.