Eurostar Orders 50 Trains Rated for 55°C by 2031 as Europe Heat Strains Infrastructure
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 1
Eurostar Orders 50 Trains Rated for 55°C by 2031 as Europe Heat Strains Infrastructure
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 1
Summary
Up to 50 new Eurostar Celestia trains will be fitted with air conditioning that works in 55°C heat, after the operator raised its design target from 45°C; the fleet is due to enter service in 2031.
Recent heat waves drove the change as extreme temperatures increasingly disrupt transport systems across Europe, where infrastructure stress has become harder for companies and policymakers to ignore.
52°C asphalt at Oslo Airport forced hourly cooling with about 13,000 liters of water per round, while Stockholm painted rail tracks white to reduce buckling risks.
More than 330,000 people were evacuated from wildfires in France and Spain in the past week, underscoring a broader heat crisis on a continent warming twice as fast as the global average.
By 2050, central Europe could see extreme-heat days double or triple, with southern regions facing 40 to 55 such days a year under a high-emissions scenario.
Will Eurostar’s massive investment in 55°C-proof trains ultimately price everyday travelers out of cross-border European rail networks?
Could the immense power demands of extreme air-conditioning in new transport systems actually accelerate the climate crisis they are built to survive?
As wealthy nations spend billions heat-proofing infrastructure, will lower-GDP regions be left behind to face economic collapse in an unlivable climate?