Eurostar Group has unveiled a new brand incorporating both Thalys and Eurostar.
From the end of this year, all customer touch points, including the group’s 51 trains, will carry a “sleek new look” under the Eurostar brand name.
The new business has chosen an iconic star as its symbol and new logo inspired by l’Etoile du Nord, the original train service linking Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam and as a tribute to the first Eurostar logo.
A launch announcement said an animated spark graphic “acts as a compass symbolising the brand purpose to spark new opportunities, connecting people, places, businesses, and cultures across borders”.
There will be a single loyalty programme covering all destinations across the current Eurostar and Thalys networks, and a single website and booking system from October 2023.
For UK passengers the merger will mean smoother connections between London and German destinations, including Cologne.
Eurostar Group’s CEO Gwendoline Cazenave, who joined the business in October, said: “We are excited to unveil our new brand today which will raise our visibility, help us become the backbone of sustainable high-speed rail in Europe, and support us in our ambition to double the number of passengers over the next decade.
“Our customers will be able to experience the same quality of service they know and love across our unified network, linking iconic business and leisure destinations across five European countries. As Eurostar Group we are in a unique position to spark the next chapter for rail travel, to truly drive the modal shift from road and air to rail.”
Alain Krakovitch, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Eurostar Group, added: “We set out a bold ambition: increase the number of passengers from 19 million in 2019 to 30 million in 2030 and to accelerate the shift from air and road travel to high-speed rail travel on the combined Eurostar and Thalys network. We knew that the challenge of climate change and Europe’s growing demand for eco-responsible and sustainable travel presents a great opportunity for both companies in terms of development in the long term.”
