Following a EU decision to liberalise rail lines from January 2010, Eurostar, which next month celebrates its 15th anniversary, is likely to face a concerted challenge from European operators.
Air France has expressed a strong interest in launching a high-speed rail service to London, while German rail company Deutsche Bahn is also planning a link to London from Cologne and Frankfurt.
Emma Harris, director of sales and marketing for Euro-star, said the brand intends to roll out a refreshed visual identity next year and has called a pitch for a lead agency on the project.
The international high-speed rail service has approached an extensive list of design and branding agencies, already eliminating several.
A brief will be issued in the coming weeks, ahead of a planned four-way pitch. An appointment is expected before the end of the year.
Eurostar has already attempted to freshen up its image this year. In April, the company tasked Pininfarina, the Italian design consultancy, with revamping the interiors and exterior livery of its trains.
In November 2007, Eurostar moved its London terminal from Waterloo to St Pancras, heralding the switch as a revolution in travel between the UK and Continental Europe.
Eurostar
- Eurostar launched in November 1994, and now operates 17 services a day to Paris and Brussels.
- Since its launch, more than 100m passengers have travelled on its services.
- Eurostar operates a fleet of 27 trains travelling to 100 destinations across Europe.
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