London (CNN) \u2014 Eurostar has specified that its new fleet of trains must be able to withstand sweltering temperatures of 55 degrees Celsius, or 131 degrees Fahrenheit, as it gears up for a radically altered European climate over the coming decades.<\/p>\n
The company, which operates high-speed trains connecting a handful of northern European cities, including London, Paris and Brussels, initially ordered up to 50 new trains that could handle temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius (113 Farenheit).<\/p>\n
But intensifying heatwaves across the world\u2019s fastest-warming continent have prompted a rethink.<\/p>\n
A Eurostar spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Friday that the firm has asked manufacturers to equip the new trains, worth a collective \u20ac2 billion ($2.3 billion), with air conditioning units capable of working in heat up to 55 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese trains will enter service in 2031 and run into the 2060s so it\u2019s essential to be prepared for the future,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Eurostar sent an email to customers, offering them the chance to rebook a train scheduled for Saturday to another date free of charge, citing extreme temperatures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is currently very hot in several of our destinations. And we know that these conditions can make your journey less comfortable than usual,\u201d the company wrote in the email, shared by a customer with CNN.<\/p>\n
Should passengers stick to their original booking, Eurostar recommends they \u201cbring enough water to stay hydrated,\u201d the email added.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Financial Times, Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave said the company is readying itself for temperatures normally associated with Saudi Arabia. \u201cThis year, the heatwave has been earlier, long, hotter than ever,\u201d she told the publication.<\/p>\n
Parts of Europe are in the grip of another heatwave just days after record-shattering<\/a> June temperatures were felt in France, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n Broiling conditions have severely tested the continent\u2019s infrastructure, with some trains delayed or cancelled as extreme temperatures risk warping the metal tracks. Air conditioning \u2014 long viewed as a wasteful luxury in northern European homes \u2014 is increasingly seen<\/a> as a necessity.<\/p>\n The-CNN-Wire<\/p>\n \u2122 & \u00a9 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London (CNN) \u2014 Eurostar has specified that its new fleet of trains must be able to withstand sweltering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[15,11894],"class_list":["post-91098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-europe","tag-european","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}