When the Eurostar was basically introduced past in the 1994, predictions were that folk would turn to rail travel in large numbers. That did not occur as fast as originally foretold. In 1996 passenger forecasts for 2004 were pegged at 21.4 million. Only 7.3 million passengers travelled through Eurostar in 2004. Now Eurostar is projecting a passenger load of 10,000,000 by the year. Current increases in train travel help likely that number will be surpassed. Apart from the ease of travel through Eurostar when air travel, a number of other factors explain an upswing.

To enter a rail station is often like stepping into a museum setting. Britain's smaller stations still harbor ladies' waiting rooms, a relic of earlier Victorian times, whilst in Thailand a uniformed officer in starched white linens bangs a tremendous gong to announce an approaching algorithm.