Eurostar, operator of passenger trains through the Channel tunnel, says sales revenue rose 5 per cent to £226 million sterling in the first six months of 2001.
The company, run by French and Belgian state-owned railways and Eurostar UK, a consortium including British Airways and National Express, continues to steal market share from airlines on the London-Paris and London-Brussels routes.
Overall sales volume rose by 2.8 per cent in the six months to 3,913,000, although this was slower than a 10 per cent increase in the same period a year earlier.
Eurostar's market share for the London-Paris route rose by 2.2 percentage points to 63.5 per cent as of May, while its London-Brussels share climbed 3.2 to 46.8 per cent.
"Despite difficult and competitive market conditions, Eurostar has continued its trend of continuing progress in the first half of 2001. Particularly pleasing is the increase in market share, where Eurostar continues to be the favoured choice in the air/rail market," Eurostar chairman Mr David Azema said in a statement today.
Mr Azema said a large quarter of Eurostar's volumes came from its business division, which represented "a big third" of revenues.
"It is not the maximum number of passengers but it represents the maximum contribution to business," he said.
Fifteen percent of Eurostar’sticket sales are now made via the Internet, he added.