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I've checked the costs of first class travel by high speed train in France and to UK. According to pictures, first class seats in the Eurostar and TGV look similar in terms of legroom and width, while fares are not. I am not a business traveler but a tourist looking for extra comfort.

I did a comparison of full-fare ticket prices on two trips that are similar in distance and travel time.

For instance, a trip from Paris to Lyon, which lasts 2 hours and covers 500km, costs about €100 full-fare in first class. Using the Eurostar between Paris and London, for a trip that is about the same length and duration, full fare in Standard Premier class is about €200.

Eurostar first class is far more expensive than TGV first class. Does the Eurostar first class offer services that are worth the extra cost?

Mark Mayo
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DavGin
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3 Answers3

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First Class on the TGV means a wider seat, power sockets, fewer people (so a generally quieter environment), and that's about it.

Standard Premier on the Eurostar is pretty much the same, except you get a small cold dish and a cold alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage.

The difference in price is more due to demand than the actual cost of the service.

Whether it's worth it is up to you. The choice is not between Eurostar Standard Premier and TGV First Class, the choice is between Eurostar Standard and Standard Premier.

If the price difference between Eurostar Standard and Standard Premier is small enough to you that it's worth it to spend those two hours with more space, a power socket, and a small free meal, then go for it.

note: carriages 5 & 14 have power sockets on the Eurostar, so if you book a seat in one of those and buy yourself a nice meal from M&S to take on the train, the difference comes down only to the difference in seat size.

Cosmic Ossifrage
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victoriah
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Basically it boils down to the fact that Eurostar can move you between Paris and London, whereas TGV cannot. It's not about the “extra cost” of Eurostar versus TGV or what Eurostar comfort is worth as this is not a choice available to anybody.

Speculating a bit, there are many things that might contribute to make Eurostar expensive:

  • Use rights for the tunnel (not sure about the terminology in English but train companies have to pay to use the train network and Eurostar is regularly complaining about Eurotunnel prices)
  • Demand and competition with other means of transportation (it seems there is no shortage of customers ready to pay Eurostar prices so with a more-or-less fixed capacity and high costs there is no reason for them to compete on price)
  • Regulation/policy (I don't know all the details and I don't think it's as true today as in the past but for a long time, SNCF was somewhat constrained regarding domestic prices but could set prices on border-crossing high-speed trains freely – so-called “prix de marché”; Most of these trains are operated by subsidiaries like Thalys, Lyria, or Eurostar and have always been more expensive than TGV)
  • Cost of the extra security/boarding procedure at Paris Gare du Nord (not sure who pays for that actually)

Now, if you are looking for a great high-speed train to spend time on, no matter the journey, I don't think TGV is particularly good value either. Germany's ICE are my personal favorite but there are many I didn't try yet!

Relaxed
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I think these answers are missing the most important benefit: savings of time and flexibility with respect to time. If you have a business premiere ticket, there’s a special ticketing queue and it’s open up to 10 minutes before departure.

Jack Johnson
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