Eurostar services severely delayed over e-gate issue

[AndrewE]

Eurostar: Services severely delayed and cancelled over e-gate breakdown

Eurostar said there was a technical problem with UK Border Force e-gates at Gare du Nord.

www.bbc.com

Hundreds of Eurostar passengers have seen their trains delayed or cancelled due to a technical issue.
Eurostar said in a statement that the delays were due to a problem with UK Border Force e-gates, which caused the company to cancel at least two trains.
"We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused," the company said, advising customers to postpone their journeys if possible.
Hundreds of people were waiting at the Paris station on Thursday afternoon, many of them families with young children on their half-term break.
Eurostar said services in both directions between Paris and London were affected.
...
We are awaiting the intervention of a technician to resolve this problem as quickly as possible and reduce the impact on our passengers but unfortunately, we had to cancel the two last trains of the day.

"We advise those who can, to postpone their journey. We are offering affected customers exchanges free of charge or a full refund of their journey.

"We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused."

Nothing about accommodation being offered...

 

[sor]

Went through StP today (thankfully outbound and not going to Paris) and it did seem strange that all the Paris trains were arriving late (thus turning around late too). Of course the post-security area was even more full than usual. Lots of people needing to get their tickets stamped for onward connections.

 

[Re6/6]

Was caught up in this mess yesterday. Absolutely chaos at Gare du Nord with no indication that the queue for check started in the hall below the main platforms. The queue for three trains was horrendous. Slowly it wound through the hall and then up the escalators to the main elevated platform to check in. From arrival in the station to getting past Uk immigration took two hours. Eurostar were delaying trains to accommodate passengers caught up in the queue for check in. My train departed 91 minutes late. Others were severely delayed. Announcements were very standard but clear and explained the problem was to do with Uk immigration network. The passport barriers were working as I used one and got through with no issue.
Eurostar announced to passengers on the train how to claim compensation.

 

[rheingold103]

Eurostar announced to passengers on the train how to claim compensation.

Is Eurostar reimbursed in such a situation by relevant UK Government agency, or does the latter shrug its shoulders 'your problem, a condition of your licence' etc?

 

[Watershed]

I wouldn't be surprised if Eurostar denied delay compensation on the basis that the delay was entirely outside their control, which the new EU Passenger Rights and Obligations Regulations (PRO, which came into force about a year ago) entitle them to do.

A corresponding delay departing the UK would be covered under the retained, old version of the PRO and thus still give rise to a claim for delay compensation. It strikes me as unlikely that an organisation as commercially aggressive as Eurostar - and which has shown scant regard for passenger rights obligations in the past - would pay compensation it isn't legally obliged to pay.

 

[rvdborgt]

The recast regulation 2021/782 says in article 19(10):

Strikes by the personnel of the railway undertaking, acts or omissions by another undertaking using the same railway infrastructure and acts or omissions of the infrastructure and station managers are not covered by the exemption referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph.

Who owns the faulty gates?
Or the other way around, could the owner of any infrastructure in the station be seen as a station manager or infrastructure manager?

 

[Watershed]

The recast regulation 2021/782 says in article 19(10):

Who owns the faulty gates?
Or the other way around, could the owner of any infrastructure in the station be seen as a station manager or infrastructure manager?

The faulty gates would surely be owned (or at least, managed) by one of the countries' border authorities, so I don't think the "infrastructure or station manager" could be blamed in this instance.