Together for Eurostar - TSSA

Our joint campaign to keep Eurostar our green link to Europe.

“The carbon costs of rail versus air are really clear. There’s so much less carbon for rail than air... Yet the aviation industry is subsidised with no tax paid on aviation fuel, there’s no VAT on airline tickets – this is a subsidy effectively worth billions of pounds a year.”

Why are we campaigning?

Eurostar’s future is at risk because of the Covid-19 pandemic yet the UK government is extremely reluctant to support the service, even though 70% of Eurostar staff are based in the UK.

Eurostar is the UK’s greenest form of travel to Europe, at its peak taking 60,000 short haul planes out of the sky. For economic and environmental reasons the UK cannot afford to lose Eurostar, but the Tories are doing nothing.

TSSA has launched a (multi-partner) campaign to save Eurostar, bringing together other trade unions, environmental groups like Friends of the Earth, and others to save Eurostar.

“Our crew is ready to go, the company is raring to go. We want to run these trains. Come September, the furlough system totally ends. There is no financial backing at this point in time.

About Eurostar

Eurostar has revolutionised travel between the UK and continental Europe. In 2019, the service carried over 11million passengers, providing over 80% of journeys between London and each of Paris and Brussels.

The popular city centre to city centre link also delivers 80% lower emissions per route than flying, saving 60,000 short-haul flights each year. But covid hit Eurostar, along with all international travel, especially hard with just one train a day running for much of 2021, revenue through the floor and debt mounting.

Covid-19 hit Eurostar hard, with lost services costing the company £1m a day. Other industries - notably for comparison, airlines – have received significant financial support from the Tory government, but Eurostar has only been able to access Furlough. Now that, too, is coming to an end

Sign our Eurostar petition

Sign our petition to save Eurostar

Yes! I'll sign to save Eurostar

“The idea that the government cannot step in to save Eurostar is absolute rubbish. Sign that petition, share it on social media, talk to your friends and family so that you get the message out there loud and clear that you stand shoulder to shoulder with Eurostar workers, but you’re also standing shoulder to shoulder with the future of the planet so our children can inherit something better.”