Day: November 26, 2020

Eurostar bosses are warning that the company is “fighting for survival” as coronavirus travel restrictions trigger a 95% drop in demand from pre-Covid levels.

Passenger numbers on the cross-Channel train service have been down since March and are now “believed to be less than 1%” of the levels prior to the pandemic, following the recent tightening of coronavirus rules in countries across Europe, The Guardian reports.

The dearth of passengers has seen the number of services running each day drop from 50 before the pandemic to just “a single train per day going each way between London and Paris, and one in either direction between London and Brussels”, adds Sky News.

Eurostar chief executive Jacques Damas has now written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak asking for financial help after the UK government announced on Tuesday that the country’s struggling airports will each receive business rates relief of up to £8m.

In a statement, the train operator said: “The new scheme of rates relief for airports puts Eurostar at a direct disadvantage against its airline competitors. Eurostar has been left fighting for its survival against a 95% drop in demand, whilst aviation has received over £1.8bn in support through loans, tax deferrals and financing.

“We would ask this scheme to be extended to include international rail services, and more generally for the government to incorporate high-speed rail in its support for the travel sector, and in doing so help protect the green gateway to Europe.”

‘Key to our future connectivity’

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Cash has also called for the government to step in immediately to give “lifeline financial support for the important international infrastructure role fulfilled by Eurostar and the thousands of jobs supported both directly and indirectly by the service”.

That plea has been echoed by Anthony Berkeley, vice president of Allrail. In an article in City A.M., Berkeley writes: “As the end of the EU transition period looms, the UK must be able to showcase the strength of its post-Brexit trading role, whatever the outcome of negotiations. Our connectivity with Europe, even as a standalone nation, is crucial to demonstrating this.

“Recent news of vaccines gives us all a glimmer of hope that life as we know it will resume soon. When it does, we need to make sure our international high-speed rail businesses are in a strong position to respond and meet demand. That means fighting to safeguard cross-Channel rail – our green gateway to Europe, and the key to our future connectivity in a post-Brexit world.”

The government has revealed which parts of the UK will face the highest level of Covid restrictions when the nationwide lockdown ends next week – with just three areas deemed safe enough to enter Tier 1.

London and Liverpool will be put into Tier 2, while Manchester, Hull and Newcastle are among “swathes of the North set to face the toughest coronavirus restrictions” in Tier 3, The Telegraph reports. Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and Isle of Scilly are the only regions in the Tier 1 catagory.

How are the tiers calculated?

While a number of measures will remain in place across all regions, such as an 11pm closing time for pubs and restaurants, the new tier system dictates which other restrictions are imposed in each area.

Based on advice from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), the tiers are decided according to the following factors:

• total case numbers
• cases in over 60s
• the rate at which infections are rising or falling
• percentage of positive tests
• current and projected pressure on local NHS services

In a statement to the Commons today, Health Secretary Matt Hanock said: “We have taken into account advice from Sage on the impact of the previous tiers to strengthen the measures in the tiers, and help enable areas to move more swiftly into lower tiers.”

However, the tiers plan has been criticised by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who told MPs that introducing the scheme without a working test-and-trace system was a “major risk”, The Guardian reports.

Which areas are in which tier?

Just 1% of England’s population will be in Tier 1 come the end of lockdown. London will enter Tier 2, in which household mixing is only permitted outside – dealing another “blow to the capital’s hospitality industry”, says The Telegraph.

Joining London in Tier 2 will be Liverpool and most of the Southeast and Southwest of England.

But many other major cities and huge chunks of the country are facing Tier 3 rules, including Newcastle, Sunderland, Lancashire, Blackpool, Blackburn, Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Bristol.

The top level of restrictions will also apply to Greater Manchester, where Mayor Andy Burnham has fought a bitter battle with the government over funding for the North of the country.

Other Tier 3 areas include parts of Yorkshire and Gloucestershire and all of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, all of Yorkshire, the Tees Valley and Kent.

You can confirm your local status by checking the government’s full list of local restrictions tiers by area.