EUROPE - IMEX Group Chairman, Ray Bloom, says he wholeheartedly supports any innovation that gives UK buyers and visitors extra choice and flexibility in attending his worldwide travel industry event.
His response follows news that a new German high-speed train connecting Frankfurt and London will make its first dry run between the cities in October.
Expected to start commuter journeys by 2013, the Inter City Express 3 can travel at speeds of 200mph and connect passengers from London and Frankfurt in less than five hours. Industry experts expect the new service will pressure Eurostar to reduce its current pricing.
“This groundbreaking new initiative will bring the UK and Frankfurt even closer together,” says Bloom. “The UK remains a hugely important market for us and giving that market additional access to IMEX can only be a good thing.
“We already work closely with Deutsche Bahn in continental Europe and last year nearly 900 buyers travelled to IMEX in Frankfurt by rail, coming in from Germany, Brussels, Amsterdam, Zurich and Paris,” he adds.
The German Deutsche Bahn train will make its maiden cross-channel voyage on 19 October and arrive at London’s St Pancras International terminal. It must pass a series of tunnel safety tests before it can start full services from Frankfurt.
“DB is committed to introducing high-speed passenger rail services between London and Germany, enhancing connectivity between these two countries,” says a spokesman for DB. “Work has already commenced with safety, infrastructure and regulatory bodies across Europe in order to meet all the requirements necessary to operate these trains.”
The rail company says it is considering a route starting in Frankfurt via Cologne and Brussels, finishing in London. The new service is expected to carry more than one million passengers a year, or 10 per cent of the traffic between London and mainland Europe.
