U.K. Offers to Help Save Eurostar But Says France Must Take Lead
- Transport Secretary: Eurostar isn’t Britain’s to bail out
- U.K. Export Finance, Bank of England loans may be available
Passengers board a Eurostar International Ltd. train service to Paris, at St Pancras International Station in London.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.K. said it’s ready to pitch in with state funding to help rescue Eurostar International Ltd. if France takes the lead on bailing out the Channel Tunnel rail business that’s been savaged by pandemic travel restrictions.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said options including the Bank of England’s coronavirus loans and the U.K.’s export finance regime could be available to help London-based Eurostar, which operates a passenger-train link with the continent. But he insisted that the primary responsibility for the bailout remains with France, which controls the company via state railway SNCF.