Thalys Trains 

Thalys is operated jointly by SNCF which operates the TGV network in France and SNCB which runs the Belgian Rail system. Both companies are joint owners of Eurostar. It has been running since 4^th June 1996 when the first train left Paris for Brussels to complete the journey in just 2 hours and 7 minutes. Just over a year later the new high speed rail line was completed allowing the journey time to be reduced to just 1 hour and 25 minutes.

The service destinations have now been expanded to Cologne and Aachen in Germany, and Bruges, Charleroi, Ghent, Mons, Namur and Ostend in Belgium. In addition winter trains have run all the way to Bourg St. Maurice in the French Alps and from Charles de Gaulle Airport. The services from CDG have allowed Thalys to code-share with a number of airlines, including American, Northwest and of course Air France which offers passengers a through-ticket to Thalys destinations. Air France do not now offer an air service from Paris to Brussels. Instead they book the Thalys service. It is highly likely that a new service from CDG to London will become possible after de-regulation of Eurotunnel link after 2013.

Passengers from Belgium can travel to Avignon and Valence in the south of France on Thalys, and Paris to Amsterdam is becoming much quicker due to the expansion of the high speed line beyond Antwerp and into Holland.