Eurostar Group

Eurostar Group

Eurostar Group is a holding company founded by SNCF Voyageurs, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, SNCB, and Federated Hermes Infrastructure in 2022. It aims at merging the operations of Thalys and Eurostar high-speed rail services between France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany.

Eurostar Group History

In September 2019, Eurostar and Thalys shareholders introduced a plan to merge the two companies, a project named Green Speed. Both companies already operate in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, with Eurostar also operating in the United Kingdom, and Thalys also operating in Germany, and SNCF already owns a majority stake in both of them. The project aims at reducing costs, and at providing a more seamless experience to passengers, with the use of a single ticketing system and loyalty program.

After being delayed by COVID-19 pandemic, the project resumes in October 2021. It is announced that both services would be operated under the Eurostar brand, the Thalys brand being dropped, with current Eurostar service being renamed Eurostar Blue, and existing Thalys service Eurostar Red.

European Commission approved the merger project on 29 March 2022.

In April 2022, the new holding company, Eurostar Group, was established in Belgium. It is owned by the previous shareholders of Eurostar and Thalys, with SNCF retaining its majority stake.

Eurostar Group Criticism

The European Passengers’ Federation believes that the merger will give the new company a monopoly position of the market they serve, and lead to higher ticket prices for passengers.

Eurostar Group Overview

Eurostar Group Type: Private
Eurostar Group Industry: High-speed rail service
Eurostar Group Founded: April 7, 2022, 17 months ago in Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Eurostar Group Headquarters: Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Eurostar Group Area Served: France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands
Eurostar Group Key People: Gwendoline Cazenave (CEO)
Eurostar Group Services:
Eurostar
Thalys
Eurostar Group Owner:
SNCF Voyageurs (55.75%)
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (19.31%)
SNCB (18.5%)
Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%)
Eurostar Group Subsidiaries:
Eurostar International Limited
THI Factory