Guillaume Pepy said that the move, which would take up to two years to implement, would create a single and more efficient European railway company and allow travellers simpler and more efficient journeys. He told reporters that the two networks, which are majority owned by the SNCF, had a total potential to transport 30 million passengers a year compared with 18.5 million in 2018. "The idea is to develop and expand the network," Pepy told reporters in Paris, adding that "SNCF clearly wants to keep control" over the merged entity. SNCF has a majority 55 percent stake in Eurostar, which runs trains from Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels to London through the Channel Tunnel. Thalys is owned 60 percent by SNCF with SNCB holding a 40 percent stake.

Source: The Local September 27, 2019 10:07 UTC