Eurostar

Eurostar is the high-speed passenger train operating from London to Paris and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel. It is run by a consortium of French railways (SNCF), Belgian railways (SNCB) and Eurostar UK Ltd. The train started running in 1994. Don’t confuse Eurostar with Eurotunnel, whose trains carry motor cars, lorries and coaches from one side of the Channel to the other. Eurostar does not carry cars, just passengers. London to Paris by Eurostar is 495 km (about 307 miles); it takes about 2 hours 15 minutes to run from centre to centre at 186 mph.

The service is operated by the eighteen-carriage Class 373 trains consisting of 2^nd and 1^st class cars. Eurostar is completely non-smoking. Between autumn 2004 and autumn 2005 all Eurostars were refurbished with a new interior design.

In 1^st class cars the fare includes an excellent hot airline-style 3-course meal and complimentary (= free ) alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, all served at your seat. Two bar cars are at passengers’ disposal. They are located in cars 6 and 13 and serve tea, coffee, hot chocolate, beer, wine, sandwiches, crisps and hot snacks. The bar accepts credit cards as well as cash. You can eat and drink in the bar area (standing space only, there are no seats) or take your meal back to your seat.

All seats on Eurostar must be reserved in advance. If you book your ticket at www.eurostar.com, you can choose which seat in which car you want.

If you want a power socket for a mobile or laptop, choose cars 5 or 14 in 2^nd class. In first class, all cars have these facilities.

If you have small children, book seats in cars 1 or 18 (2^nd class). These cars are at each end of the train, so less people walk through them to the bar. These cars have bays (= compartments ) of 4 seats (with or without a table, your choice), which are much better for families than face-to-back airline-style seating.

Children under 4 go free on Eurostar. A special child fare applies to children from 4 to 11 inclusive. Children aged 12 and over travel at the adult fare. All children under 12 must travel accompanied by an adult.

Unfortunately, you cannot take dogs or other pets on Eurostar, except for guide dogs.

Unlike traveling by air, you don’t check in your bags when traveling by Eurostar. You keep them with you, placing small or medium size bags on the luggage racks above your head. Larger bags are placed on the big racks at the end of the coach. Also unlike air travel, there’s no weight limit. All bags taken onto Eurostar must have a label showing your name and surname.

The London terminal has a left luggage office, where you can leave your luggage. Bags are X-rayed before deposit. The Paris terminal has left luggage lockers. A small locker costs 4.50 euros, a suitcase-sized locker about 7.50 euros for 24 hours, and a locker for two large suitcases around 9.50 euros. There’s a change machine, which can convert 10, 20 or 50 euro banknotes into the coins needed for the lockers. The Brussels terminal has both luggage lockers and a left luggage office.

Ex. 8. Each of the sentences below is followed by two paraphrases. Decide which paraphrase (a, b) is closer in meaning to the original statement. Translate the original statement and the paraphrases into Russian.