Eurostar St Pancras - is bedlam normal?

[Steve W]

It was good while it lasted! All my Eurostar trips in 2024 were far more relaxed (at the London end at least) due to using iProov.

The URL that confirms the quote above is here:

London St Pancras station: departures & facilities | Eurostar

Learn everything you need to know about train station London St Pancras – from when to arrive and the departure process to accessible travel and station facilities.

www.eurostar.com

I read elsewhere that not many of the Business Premier / Carte Blanche passengers this was marketed towards used the service as it wasn't much different to their normal experience (15 mins standard check-in deadline). Possibly that convinced Eurostar it wasn't worth continuing? It would have interesting to see how this would have worked if Eurostar scaled it up and marketed it more widely to other passengers.

Am I right in thinking that putting ’smart’ in front of another word (‘motorway’, ‘till’, ‘bus’, is just trendy marketing, as how for a while everything was prefixed ‘I-’ whatever? (phone, pod, player)

And

I’m using Eurostar on Valleys Day, in cattle class, so should I expect lots more or less bedlam?

 

[njr001]

If Valleys Day is before 13th Feb do sign up to iproov, I suspect very few cattle class passengers where aware of the system so I don’t think the standard check in will be any the worse from 13th Feb

 

[Trainbike46]

Am I right in thinking that putting ’smart’ in front of another word (‘motorway’, ‘till’, ‘bus’, is just trendy marketing, as how for a while everything was prefixed ‘I-’ whatever? (phone, pod, player)

And

I’m using Eurostar on Valleys Day, in cattle class, so should I expect lots more or less bedlam?

You shouldn't expect bedlam; since this thread was started, border capacity has been increased significantly, and my last few journeys were smooth and quick. Just be sure to join the queue at least 30 minutes before departure, but no more than 1 hour before departure.

 

[tony6499]

Is it worth getting the app if you're going before they bin it ?

 

[njr001]

Definitely if travelling before 13th Feb.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I've just registered on the iProov.me app for a Eurostar trip in the summer, before checking on this thread.
So I needn't have bothered!
I wonder if the facility will return when the layout changes for EES are finished?
I think not, having read what is planned for the SmartCheck space.

Why Eurostar's amazing iProov.me SmartCheck scheme is ending

Eurostar's amazing iProov.me Smart Check scheme, which saved you from showing your Eurostar ticket or your passport to UK immigration at St Pancras, is ending.

www.headforpoints.com

When iProov.me is removed, the security lane that is freed up will become an additional priority lane for Eurostar Premier, Carte Blanche and Etoile members. Extra ePassport gates and passport control booths will be added.
This should minimise delays for premium passengers when the new EU Entry / Exit System finally launches.

 

[Birkonian]

How did you manage that without having a "full-fat" 1st Premium ticket?

iProov accepts any ticket. Once it is registered on the app you just walk through the gate.

 

[Goldfish62]

iProov accepts any ticket. Once it is registered on the app you just walk through the gate.

Thanks. I'd never heard of it until now.

 

[williamn]

Through in 15 mins at St Pancras on a Thursday morning recently. Similarly quick experience coming back through GDN the following Weds mid morning.

 

[island]

Am I right in thinking that putting ’smart’ in front of another word (‘motorway’, ‘till’, ‘bus’, is just trendy marketing, as how for a while everything was prefixed ‘I-’ whatever? (phone, pod, player)

Yes. The 2025 version is AI border crossing.

 

[Thames99]

I've just received an email from Eurostar regarding bidding for an upgrade to Eurostar Plus with a minimum bid of £35 in my case. It seems to be similar to Seatfrog. Is this something new - I can't remember seeing it before. There is a page on the site regarding this
https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/deals/bid-upgrade

There’s still time to bid your way to an upgrade and get the most out of your trip.

If your offer is accepted, you can relax in comfy seats, stretch out with extra space, and enjoy a mouth-watering meal. You’ll even have a little more room for your luggage. What are you waiting for? Click below to bid.

 

[island]

I haven’t come across it before but it’s an interesting development.

 

[stuving]

HS1's "St Pancras Enhancement Project" (which is STEP, according to HS1) was mentioned in post #212 last year. That design study has reported and a further study into implementation has been launched with a competition. Further details on this thread.

 

[Senex]

A friend and her husband, normally air travellers, were making their first Eurostar trip yesterday afternoon, London to Brussels. Their impression of the facilities at St Pancras, whilst waiting for a seriously delayed train to be called, prompt them to say they will never think of the train again. It was a hot day and the departure "lounge" was seriously overcrowded, with people sitting on the floor (and getting bumped into by others walking by). Information was apparently poor, customer service non-existent.

I wonder if anyone can answer a couple of questions for me, one simple, the other perhaps a bit more complicated.

Is it possible to follow a Eurostar train on any of the real-time sites? Realtimetrains, for instance, acknowledges the existence of Lille Europe and Brussels Midi stations but doesn't seem to shew any EST services.

I had always understood that way back when Channel Tunnel services were being planned, two blocks of three paths each per hour were reserved in the timetable for the through passenger services (so that they could run through at 160 km/h rather than the 130 km/h of the shuttles), the idea being to allow for a maximum of a train every half hour to each of Paris and Brussels. If this was the case, would the facilities at St Pancras not have been designed for this sort of maximum passenger load, plus a bit extra for problem times? But since this sort of timetable has never run, why is St Pancras so often apparently overwhelmed by numbers? (And it doesn't seem to be just a new thing since the Brexit disaster.)

 

[rvdborgt]

Is it possible to follow a Eurostar train on any of the real-time sites? Realtimetrains, for instance, acknowledges the existence of Lille Europe and Brussels Midi stations but doesn't seem to shew any EST services.

I've seen Eurostar trains on RTT, but details are only available between London and Eurotunnel Boundary.

 

[Fragezeichnen]

Traksy shows the whole route from London to the Eurotunnel boundary in details: https://traksy.uk/live/M+37+ASHFKY+-14/M+36+DOLMCTL+-464

SNCB seems to know about the delays of Eurostar trains: https://www.belgiantrain.be/en/trav...train-number?trainNumber=9145&date=2025-06-19

 

[rvdborgt]

SNCB seems to know about the delays of Eurostar trains: https://www.belgiantrain.be/en/trav...train-number?trainNumber=9145&date=2025-06-19

This page give a little more detail:

https://www.belgiantrain.be/en/support/customer-service/delay-certificate

You can use it for any passenger train in/from/to/through Belgium.

 

[Trainbike46]

A friend and her husband, normally air travellers, were making their first Eurostar trip yesterday afternoon, London to Brussels. Their impression of the facilities at St Pancras, whilst waiting for a seriously delayed train to be called, prompt them to say they will never think of the train again. It was a hot day and the departure "lounge" was seriously overcrowded, with people sitting on the floor (and getting bumped into by others walking by). Information was apparently poor, customer service non-existent.

I wonder if anyone can answer a couple of questions for me, one simple, the other perhaps a bit more complicated.

Is it possible to follow a Eurostar train on any of the real-time sites? Realtimetrains, for instance, acknowledges the existence of Lille Europe and Brussels Midi stations but doesn't seem to shew any EST services.

I had always understood that way back when Channel Tunnel services were being planned, two blocks of three paths each per hour were reserved in the timetable for the through passenger services (so that they could run through at 160 km/h rather than the 130 km/h of the shuttles), the idea being to allow for a maximum of a train every half hour to each of Paris and Brussels. If this was the case, would the facilities at St Pancras not have been designed for this sort of maximum passenger load, plus a bit extra for problem times? But since this sort of timetable has never run, why is St Pancras so often apparently overwhelmed by numbers? (And it doesn't seem to be just a new thing since the Brexit disaster.)

I'm sorry your friend has been delayed. If they haven't already looked at this, they may be eligible for some delay repay.

There are two blocks of two paths each, with departures at .01, .04, .31, and .34 from St Pancras. In some hours, there is an additional path departing around .15/.16.

St Pancras was built significantly later than the Channel Tunnel, so expectations on loading may have been different. I think there was also an expectation that Waterloo International would continue to be used, but obviously it was not.

Another thing that has changed is that they have replaced most e300 trains with ~750 seats with e320 trains with ~900 seats. While not all 4/5 departures run every hour, if 2 adjacent paths are used, that could mean 1800 people in the lounge, and it isn't really big enough for that. If there's a delay, things do get worse because people keep entering for later departures.

There are plans to improve the situation, and in general I would recommend joining the security queue sometime between 40 and 60 minutes before the departure time, unless travelling business premier or you have Carte Blanche or etoile status.

 

[Senex]

I'm sorry your friend has been delayed. If they haven't already looked at this, they may be eligible for some delay repay.

There are two blocks of two paths each, with departures at .01, .04, .31, and .34 from St Pancras. In some hours, there is an additional path departing around .15/.16.

St Pancras was built significantly later than the Channel Tunnel, so expectations on loading may have been different. I think there was also an expectation that Waterloo International would continue to be used, but obviously it was not.

Another thing that has changed is that they have replaced most e300 trains with ~750 seats with e320 trains with ~900 seats. While not all 4/5 departures run every hour, if 2 adjacent paths are used, that could mean 1800 people in the lounge, and it isn't really big enough for that. If there's a delay, things do get worse because people keep entering for later departures.

There are plans to improve the situation, and in general I would recommend joining the security queue sometime between 40 and 60 minutes before the departure time, unless travelling business premier or you have Carte Blanche or etoile status.

Thanks to everyone for the various comments. Delay-repay won't kick in for the journey in question as the lateness was "only" three-quarters of an hour (even though at least one web-page says the Eurostar compensation-scale starts at 30 minutes). One the train left St Pancras it got an absolutely normal run right through to Brussels and lost no more time. So the real grumble (apart from being late!) was about the disgraceful conditions at St Pancras.

Thanks for the path info. It is essentially what I remember from the discussions prior to the opening of the tunnel, though I hadn't heard of the additional path you mention before. Do you happen to know if the third path in each block that I mentioned (to make sure that a 160-km/h train can follow a 130-km/h train with signalling restriction) is still there, or does Eurostar now simply take a standard 130-km/h path? I have many memories (admittedly from some years back) of going through the tunnel at speed and then the TVM bringing the train right down to 80 as a shuttle got out of the way at the Calais end.

I think you're right that the expectation was originally that Waterloo would continue to be used for some trains. But by the time the plans for St Pancras were finalised it was clear that the UK was always going to be difficult over immigration etc and the designs just don't seem to have allowed enough space for the facilities required (as with other parts of the rebuilt station too). Pity — the restoration-and-conversion-job done on Barlow's train-shed is a brilliant re-working of the original, b ut the new stuff just doesn't come up to the same standard.

I hadn't realised the difference in seating of about 150 between the original TMST TGVs and the current stock. That does indeed mean that if you have a full Paris going out just 3 minutes before a full Brussels, then the facilities really are being pushed to their limits. Add in delayed trains and passengers arriving for the next departures .... Not a good recipe!

 

[Trainbike46]

Thanks to everyone for the various comments. Delay-repay won't kick in for the journey in question as the lateness was "only" three-quarters of an hour (even though at least one web-page says the Eurostar compensation-scale starts at 30 minutes). One the train left St Pancras it got an absolutely normal run right through to Brussels and lost no more time. So the real grumble (apart from being late!) was about the disgraceful conditions at St Pancras.

In my experience, the Brussels lounge is usually worse unfortunately....

Thanks for the path info. It is essentially what I remember from the discussions prior to the opening of the tunnel, though I hadn't heard of the additional path you mention before. Do you happen to know if the third path in each block that I mentioned (to make sure that a 160-km/h train can follow a 130-km/h train with signalling restriction) is still there, or does Eurostar now simply take a standard 130-km/h path? I have many memories (admittedly from some years back) of going through the tunnel at speed and then the TVM bringing the train right down to 80 as a shuttle got out of the way at the Calais end.

I believe (but am not sure) all passenger train paths are 160 km/h. I don't know about the third path you mention, but if it is one that can't actually be used by passenger trains, it wouldn't be included in the 4/5 paths I mentioned. The additional path around .15/.16 is used by some of the Amsterdam departures, notable the 06:16 and 08:16 departures. I don't know what other times this path exists at, if it does at any other times at all.

I think you're right that the expectation was originally that Waterloo would continue to be used for some trains. But by the time the plans for St Pancras were finalised it was clear that the UK was always going to be difficult over immigration etc and the designs just don't seem to have allowed enough space for the facilities required (as with other parts of the rebuilt station too). Pity — the restoration-and-conversion-job done on Barlow's train-shed is a brilliant re-working of the original, b ut the new stuff just doesn't come up to the same standard.

As I said, there are plans to increase lounge and border capacity!

I hadn't realised the difference in seating of about 150 between the original TMST TGVs and the current stock. That does indeed mean that if you have a full Paris going out just 3 minutes before a full Brussels, then the facilities really are being pushed to their limits. Add in delayed trains and passengers arriving for the next departures .... Not a good recipe!

Absolutely!

 

[30907]

That does indeed mean that if you have a full Paris going out just 3 minutes before a full Brussels, then the facilities really are being pushed to their limits.

The timetable fortunately doesn't require this as the two trains are booked 1/2 hour apart.

 

[STINT47]

After travelling from London to Brussels and back earlier this month i found that the worst part of Eurostar was the departure lounges at both ends.

St Pancras as many have noted is just to small. No where for many to sit and it really feels cramped and unpleasant. I hope that they can make sone modifications soon as it was pretty awful.

The security and passport areas also seemed to take up mote space than when St Pancras first opened, which must further reduce capacity along with increased check in times. On a journey in the early days I remember my Brussels train departing three minuets after a Paris service and whilst the lounge was busy it managed better compared to my most recent journey when we were the only departure in that half hour.

Brussels bizarrely has a large shop straight after passport control, which you also have to go through again to access the escalator and train.When I last went through Brussels (many years ago) this wasn't there and I seem to remember a more open seating area and lounge with a small cafe.This was much better.

It also wasn't immediately obvious to me where the seating areas and toilets at Brussels were. Once I found them I noted that the area had a bare feel to it and in places could do with a bit of general maintenance.

Security and passport wise Brussels actually took longer than London but I think I turned up at tge same time as everyone else. If I'd been 10 to 15 minuets later I'd still be in time but would have got through much quicker.

Overall compared to my last trip on Eurostar in the early 2010s the pre departure experience really has gone down hill. Being asked to arrive earlier, longer times to clear security/passports and poor departure lounges has meant that airports are now little worse or even better than using the train.

It's a shame as Eurostar used to be less stress than using an airport with much reduced time spent at departures. They do however still win for arrivals. Straight off and walk out to the street is something I could only dream off at an airport.

 

[davews]

I have had a few trips via EMR from St Pancras recently. Getting through the concourse past the queues for Eurostar is quite a battle these days, don't recall it being so busy a few years ago.,

 

[Failed Unit]

The timetable fortunately doesn't require this as the two trains are booked 1/2 hour apart.

Not all the time, the is a train to Paris and one to Brussels 3 minutes apart. (I think 0701 and 0704) To make things even better the last time I was on it the trains were both on the same island so you had two train loads using the same escalator (The is also a train at about 0730 to Paris). The lounge wasn’t that bad.

 

[HantsExile]

Lille is much better! Usually more than enough seating and a pleasant green outlook onto a park.

 

[Essexman]

Eurostar’s decision not to reinstate the Ebbsfleet and Ashford stops after Covid must have added to the number of people using St Pancras, making the experience worse for everyone but particularly those of us who used to enjoy the pleasant experience of boarding at the Kent stations.

 

[island]

Eurostar’s decision not to reinstate the Ebbsfleet and Ashford stops after Covid must have added to the number of people using St Pancras, making the experience worse for everyone but particularly those of us who used to enjoy the pleasant experience of boarding at the Kent stations.

Ebbsfleet on a busy day was often as bad or worse than St Pancras.

That being said, Eurostar has decided it doesn't want to pay for the operating costs of reinstating them. These included having Eurostar staff for ticketing and customer service, Mitie security, UK Border Force and French Police aux Frontières.

 

[Failed Unit]

Ebbsfleet on a busy day was often as bad or worse than St Pancras.

That being said, Eurostar has decided it doesn't want to pay for the operating costs of reinstating them. These included having Eurostar staff for ticketing and customer service, Mitie security, UK Border Force and French Police aux Frontières.

When you look at the statements from Eurostar they state they won’t re-open this year. So it is possible that they could return in the June 2026 timetable. Some of the recently re-instated trains certainly have the time. I guess is Eurostar thinks they can make a profit by re-opening they will. I understand Ashford are lost passengers to Eurostar as people from that area of Kent are taking their car to France to get the TGV.

 

[scarby]

Straight off and walk out to the street is something I could only dream of at an airport.

Is it? I have done that frequently travelling from Stockholm to various EU destinations. Biarritz is possibly the best where I can be literally on the street easily within 5 minutes of the aircraft doors opening.

 

[30907]

Not all the time, the is a train to Paris and one to Brussels 3 minutes apart. (I think 0701 and 0704) To make things even better the last time I was on it the trains were both on the same island so you had two train loads using the same escalator (The is also a train at about 0730 to Paris). The lounge wasn’t that bad.

Sorry, missed that one. Were these the ones that ES restricted sales on to ensure punctual departure? Bet they have a full complement in Premier too....