Ebbsfleet, Monday mornings

[BahrainLad]

Does anyone travel from Ebbsfleet on Eurostar on a reasonably frequent basis? I am trying to work out the best strategy for catching a Eurostar to Paris on a Monday morning in a couple of weeks.

I could either go

Stratford Int ; St Pancras ; Paris at 0707-0714 then 0755-1117

Stratford Int ; Ebbsfleet ; Paris at 0729-0739 then 0812-1117

i.e. 20 minutes extra in bed if I go in a linear direction rather than turning back in on myself. Or something. Is a 33 minute connection at Ebbsfleet doable when checkin is 30 minutes? The SEHS service heads on to Gravesend so will be arriving at platform 6.

My unfounded impression of Ebbsfleet on a Monday morning is that it should be either completely empty and therefore a breeze, or complete chaos because it's busy and smaller than St. P. Which is it?

 

[eastwestdivide]

I was at Ebbsfleet for a Eurostar around 0800 on a Monday morning earlier this month, and it wasn't busy.
I don't know how strict they are with the check-in times, as I'm always ridiculously early for critical connections.
If I had the choice, I'd still choose Ebbsfleet, but get up in time for a train half an hour earlier to get there "just in case". It's a peaceful enough waiting area to while away the time watching trains go past - you can see the NK line in the distance as well as the HS lines.

 

[306024]

Tend to agree. I always use Ebbsfleet where possible rather than St Pancras to avoid the crowds at St P. But do allow a bit of insurance over the connection time. High Speed is reliable but for the sake of 15 mins why chance it.

 

[CMS]

Buy the ticket from Ebbsfleet and decide on the day what you'll do, as never say never, there could be disruption in one direction. You can check-in with an Ebbsfleet ticket at St Pancras. Ebbsfleet is usually easier as there is rarely more than one train open for check-in at a time, however 33 mins for the 30 min check-in is not safe enough - I noticed recently they are stricter on the check-in times than previously seemingly as when they change the trainset from e320/TMST to the other type, they have to move seats about and reassign people. It has happened to me 4 times in the past 3/4 months.