The first stage of the alliance is the creation of a holding company owned by SNCF (55.75%), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) (19.31%), SNCB (18.5%) and funds managed by Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%). The holding company named Eurostar Group is based in Brussels and owns 100% of Eurostar International Limited (Eurostar) and THI Factory SA (Thalys), both of which remain fully fledged railway companies with headquarters in London and Brussels respectively.
The shareholders have also appointed Jacques Damas, currently CEO of Eurostar, as CEO of the new entity who will be supported by a symmetric executive committee representing both Eurostar and Thalys.
Initiated in September 2019, the Green Speed alliance project had been temporarily postponed due to the pandemic. Following a relaunch in Autumn 2021, the project received approval from the European Commission at the end of March 2022.
The shareholders of Eurostar and Thalys are more convinced than ever that the combination of Eurostar and Thalys will help to meet the growing demand for sustainable mobility by promoting the development of rail transport in Europe. The ambition is to carry 30 million passengers a year within 10 years (compared to 18 million customers in 2019) under a single brand: Eurostar.
This alliance will also accelerate the recovery of Eurostar and Thalys, who have both been hit by the pandemic. The new entity will offer the largest international high-speed network in Western Europe and aims to implement an ambitious sustainability policy over the next few years.