Eurostar branded ‘the worst performing’ train line in Europe

A vital high-speed train service connecting the UK with Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands has been branded the worst-performing rail service in Europe.

According to a new ranking of 27 European rail operators, unveiled today by the sustainable transport campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E), Eurostar is the worst-performing rail service.

The international rail service came in last largely due to its steep prices and poor reliability score.

However, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is one of the least reliable, and T&E found that only 11 operators had punctuality rates above 80%.

Eurostar disputed the findings. Deutsche Bahn declined to comment, according to The Guardian.

However, Eurostar said it had updated its booking experience and cycling policy since the data was collected and relaunched a service for buying last-minute fares at discounted prices.

Due to letting customers choose the type of compensation they receive, Eurostar does not provide automated refunds for delays.

“We are confident that if this report were redone again, the scores would be higher,” a spokesperson said. “We’ve had a record number of passengers travel with us this year, and we expect that figure to grow as we continue to invest in our service.”

Eurostar, GWR and Avanti West Coast were found to be the most expensive rail operators in Europe, something T&E believes is “driving passengers away from trains”.

“Sky-high ticket prices are driving passengers away from trains. To unlock rail’s full potential, we must make tickets more affordable,” said Victor Thévenet, rail policy manager at T&E. 

He added: “This is a shared responsibility between the industry and governments. Rail operators need to set customer-friendly fares, while Member States and the EU should ensure fair competition and lower rail tolls. That’s the ticket to making train travel accessible to all Europeans.”

Key ticket prices were calculated by examining average standard ticket costs on weekdays, seven and 28 days in advance. Special fares and reductions were analysed separately.

T&E rated the 27 companies on eight criteria covering cost and quality, giving more consideration to factors passengers said were important, including ticket prices and special fares. Lesser factors, such as bicycle policies and night train offerings, contributed 5% each to the overall score.

Italy’s Trenitalia came out well, securing the highest in the ranking, with an average of 7.7 out of 10, followed by Switzerland’s SBB, the Czech Republic’s RegioJet, Austria’s ÖBB and France’s SNCF.