We love a good train story here at Euronews Travel. We’re fans of fast trains and slow trains, new trains and vintage trains, sleeper trains… book us a ticket, we’ll ride ‘em all.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
But if there’s one kind of train I personally adore, it's the double decker ones. Likely because I grew up in the UK where there aren’t any, the novelty of stepping aboard one on the continent still hasn’t worn off.
So the announcement late last year that the Eurostar will start running double-decker trains across its network from 2031 was big news for myself and other double-decker enjoyers not of the chocolate kind.
But now, there’s even bigger news for those of us who are also fans of train tinnies: Eurostar’s new trains will have double-decker bars on board.
Open to everyone on board, the two-storey bars are meant to be the “star attraction” of the Celestia trains.
A Eurostar spokesperson told Euronews Travel: “The name Celestia means ‘heavenly’, reflecting the idea behind the double-decker bar: to create a travel experience beyond the ordinary.”
We’re convinced already.
Eurostar has ordered 30 Celestia trains, with the first due to welcome passengers from May 2031.
At that time, six will be in operation across all of Eurostar’s current destinations, as well as Geneva and Frankfurt.
Following record-breaking heatwaves across Europe this summer, Eurostar also announced that its new trains will have air conditioning that can operate in temperatures of up to 55°C.
“These trains will enter service in 2031 and run into the 2060s, so it’s essential to be prepared for the future,” a Eurostar spokesperson said.