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Eurostar turns to Ferrari for train redesign
Monday, July 13, 2009 Eurostar has brought in Ferrari sports car designers to spearhead a refurbishment of its ageing trains. The redesign is part of the rail operators’ preparation for deregulation on the Channel Tunnel rail track in Kent and London next year. Eurostar currently has an exclusive licence on this High Speed 1 route. But from January 1 it will be opened up to competitors, with an Air France-backed group and German company Deutsche Bahn already expressing an interest in the cross-Channel route. Emma Harris, Eurostar’s global sales and marketing director, said a prototype will be unveiled late next year or early 2011. Harris said Italian designers Pininfarina would revolutionise the interiors of the 15-year-old trains and play a huge role in the design of new trains introduced to the fleet. “Our business model has always been to compete against short-haul airlines. But this is all set to change and we need to invest in our product," she said. "We have brought in the best designers in Europe and their ideas have exceeded our expectations. We are all very excited.” Harris sits on the design consultation panel, but would not be drawn on questions about the detail of the designs. “We need to demonstrate to the consumer that we are unique and convince them to choose us over any competition. But it's all top secret for now.” Harris, a former sales and marketing executive in the beer industry, said Eurostar was also looking to revamp first and standard-class carriages as traveller trends had changed during the recession. “Increasing numbers of people normally in first class have been travelling in standard. We know this is not a short-term change as people now have to justify the cost of a ticket. “Standard cabins were not designed with business travellers in mind, for example, and as such we’ll be looking at the layout of carriages and the services available in each class.”
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