> Trains to and from Europe via the Channel Tunnel will stop in Kent up to 10 times each day under new plans by Gemini Trains and Uber.
Completely unrelated but I’ve had so many people since the Brexit vote tell me that no one here uses the word “Europe” in a way that excludes the UK.
You can get an Uber train? Am I missing something here? 😁
Ebbsfleet international should be the beating heart of a dense urban development. It’s an absolutely prime location with high speed rail links to the capital and potentially mainland europe. But it’s just surrounded by carparks and empty space.
They need to shrink that SSSI that was only put up by Natural England because of some non-native spiders.
Natural England gives no consideration to human needs when establishing zones like SSSIs that block development – and any decision that results in blocking development should really always involve weighing up human needs and the merits of development. Either Natural England should be required to consider human needs when designing land as SSSIs, or they should lose their planning powers.
I can’t trust uber with trains, as uber eats drivers profile picture often don’t match the person delivering.
> Mr Quine told BBC Radio Kent: “It’s very important because Eurostar no longer stop in Kent and there’s eight million people who live in the south-east of England, outside the M25, for whom having a direct service to the continent is extremely important.
I like being able to go to Paris by train. I like travelling on the Eurostar. I like arriving in the middle of Paris without the hassle of flying.
But I live four miles from St Pancras. And even then, you have to rock up early, sit in a stuffy waiting area for ages before the train leaves. You can’t take dogs on board. You can’t even take bikes on board without undergoing some relatively onerous kerfuffle. The lowest on the day fare is (today, one way) is £219. The lowest flight I can find today is £80.
Read the article and you’ll see all sorts of “could” and “plans to”. The likeliness is that they’ll do a cost/benefit analysis and it won’t be worth it.
The main thing we’re really missing here I think is a train that will let you bring dogs on board. It’s such an easy thing to do. I don’t even care if they set limits of max one dog per person and there’s an extra £50. You go through passport control when you arrive, surely dog carriers can go to the pet passport control and then do their own. It’s not that hard.
– signed, a woman who just wants to sit outside a café in France with my dog without having to drive the whole way there
Eurostar needs the competition. Frankly they have become a complacent, lazy monopoly.
Parking at Ebbsfleet to get the train to France is a lot easier than going into Central London for people in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex etc. Even passengers from south London, if they have luggage and a car.
Just to make this totally clear: Uber is not doing this. Gemini are an unknown name, so they’ve got Uber involved to agree to sell tickets via the app for a PR boost for both brands. You’ll still be able to buy tickets the usual ways (online via Gemini’s website, probably) and Uber won’t be running anything. This is a puff headline, albeit the article itself is alright.
Like a few other commenters noted, it’s the same deal as the Thames Clippers, and is essentially a sponsorship agreement.
9 comments
> Trains to and from Europe via the Channel Tunnel will stop in Kent up to 10 times each day under new plans by Gemini Trains and Uber.
Completely unrelated but I’ve had so many people since the Brexit vote tell me that no one here uses the word “Europe” in a way that excludes the UK.
You can get an Uber train? Am I missing something here? 😁
Ebbsfleet international should be the beating heart of a dense urban development. It’s an absolutely prime location with high speed rail links to the capital and potentially mainland europe. But it’s just surrounded by carparks and empty space.
They need to shrink that SSSI that was only put up by Natural England because of some non-native spiders.
Natural England gives no consideration to human needs when establishing zones like SSSIs that block development – and any decision that results in blocking development should really always involve weighing up human needs and the merits of development. Either Natural England should be required to consider human needs when designing land as SSSIs, or they should lose their planning powers.
I can’t trust uber with trains, as uber eats drivers profile picture often don’t match the person delivering.
> Mr Quine told BBC Radio Kent: “It’s very important because Eurostar no longer stop in Kent and there’s eight million people who live in the south-east of England, outside the M25, for whom having a direct service to the continent is extremely important.
I like being able to go to Paris by train. I like travelling on the Eurostar. I like arriving in the middle of Paris without the hassle of flying.
But I live four miles from St Pancras. And even then, you have to rock up early, sit in a stuffy waiting area for ages before the train leaves. You can’t take dogs on board. You can’t even take bikes on board without undergoing some relatively onerous kerfuffle. The lowest on the day fare is (today, one way) is £219. The lowest flight I can find today is £80.
My question is: is eurostar crap?
Will believe it when I see it. So many of these have been announced recently. Many questions arise with them and not many get answered https://jonworth.eu/the-future-of-long-distance-train-services-through-the-channel-tunnel/
Read the article and you’ll see all sorts of “could” and “plans to”. The likeliness is that they’ll do a cost/benefit analysis and it won’t be worth it.
The main thing we’re really missing here I think is a train that will let you bring dogs on board. It’s such an easy thing to do. I don’t even care if they set limits of max one dog per person and there’s an extra £50. You go through passport control when you arrive, surely dog carriers can go to the pet passport control and then do their own. It’s not that hard.
– signed, a woman who just wants to sit outside a café in France with my dog without having to drive the whole way there
Eurostar needs the competition. Frankly they have become a complacent, lazy monopoly.
Parking at Ebbsfleet to get the train to France is a lot easier than going into Central London for people in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex etc. Even passengers from south London, if they have luggage and a car.
Just to make this totally clear: Uber is not doing this. Gemini are an unknown name, so they’ve got Uber involved to agree to sell tickets via the app for a PR boost for both brands. You’ll still be able to buy tickets the usual ways (online via Gemini’s website, probably) and Uber won’t be running anything. This is a puff headline, albeit the article itself is alright.
Like a few other commenters noted, it’s the same deal as the Thames Clippers, and is essentially a sponsorship agreement.
Comments are closed.