More Eurostar problems (Paris to London)

[Brooke]

Just to alert people that Eurostar have had major problems again this afternoon in the Paris to London direction.

It seems to be caused by issues with baggage scanning machines or personnel.

Trains have been delayed leaving Paris by between one and three hours waiting for their passengers. (My 1612 train actually left at 1920, for example)

My train also has no catering loaded in any class, so people are now late, tired and hungry.

As ever with Eurostar: it pays to go prepared with emergency rations, no matter what travel class you’re in!

(Source: I’m in the delayed 1612 train)

 

[hassaanhc]

I was booked on the 2033 (ES 9061) and it was cancelled at about 1755. I changed my booking to the 2012 (ES 9059) and it's due to be at least 1½ hours late. Check-in hasn't started yet, they're still doing the 1812 (ES 9051) and 1912 (ES 9055)!

 

[Brooke]

I was booked on the 2033 (ES 9061) and it was cancelled at about 1755. I changed my booking to the 2012 (ES 9059) and it's due to be at least 1½ hours late. Check-in hasn't started yet, they're still doing the 1812 (ES 9051) and 1912 (ES 9055)!

Bon chance!

In case you need & are still able to, I’d recommend to grab plenty of water & some food.

Maybe also have a plan B ready to overnight in Paris, just in case E* pull the plug at some point. There are plenty of spare hotel rooms in Paris at this time year at least.

 

[185143]

Is this just Paris affected or everything?

I'm travelling back from Amsterdam in a couple of days and need to be back reasonably on time for work.

 

[Brooke]

On the app earlier, it seemed to be limited to Paris => London, then a few knock-on delays for London => Paris.

 

[hassaanhc]

Bon chance!

In case you need & are still able to, I’d recommend to grab plenty of water & some food.

Maybe also have a plan B ready to overnight in Paris, just in case E* pull the plug at some point. There are plenty of spare hotel rooms in Paris at this time year at least.

Thanks for the suggestions. Fortunately I've already eaten and also filled up my water bottle before joining the queue.

It's now after 2150 and I am still in the queue for check-in and security. Can't see this departing before 2230. Fortunately, after arriving at St Pancras International, I'm only going to Southall, but I'm likely to miss the 0036 from Paddington and I have work tomorrow morning! What an end to a 2-week trip across Italy (and 2 nights in Munich at the end).

 

[Mike395]

Thanks for the suggestions. Fortunately I've already eaten and also filled up my water bottle before joining the queue.

It's now after 2150 and I am still in the queue for check-in and security. Can't see this departing before 2230. Fortunately, after arriving at St Pancras International, I'm only going to Southall, but I'm likely to miss the 0036 from Paddington and I have work tomorrow morning! What an end to a 2-week trip across Italy (and 2 nights in Munich at the end).

Did you make it? IIRC the HSL closes on the French side overnight but I'm not sure how late...

 

[hassaanhc]

Did you make it? IIRC the HSL closes on the French side overnight but I'm not sure how late...

We finally departed at 2311, seconds short of a whole 3 hours late. There's still another service to go after mine so I wonder how they'll do?

 

[Brooke]

And for comparison, I left Paris 3 hours late and arrived London 4 hours late (slow leaving Paris and again before the tunnel, presumably waiting for an available path)

 

[Perosu1]

We finally departed at 2311, seconds short of a whole 3 hours late. There's still another service to go after mine so I wonder how they'll do?

I'm on the last service out - was booked on the 19:12 service, but that departed without me so they rebooked me onto the 21:12 one that will seemingly depart soon.
It's almost certain I'll miss the last connection to Cambridge and will only be able to make it to Royston - does anyone know what my rights are or any alternatives to reach Cambridge tonight? (I'm travelling on an Interrail pass). Thank you!

 

[MotCO]

Have you already purchased the ticket for St Pancras to Cambridge, and if so, is it a CIV ticket? See https://www.seat61.com/european-travel-from-uk-regions.htm for details

• Option 2, buy a separate train ticket to London International CIV.
  There are special fares from most stations in Britain to a destination called London International (CIV), for use with onward Eurostar tickets. Learn about these here. They're usually a similar price to a regular off-peak ticket to London, but with more generous peak restrictions if you need to leave early on a Monday-Friday and with CIV protection for missed connections with Eurostar if your UK train runs late.

 

[hassaanhc]

We finally departed at 2311, seconds short of a whole 3 hours late. There's still another service to go after mine so I wonder how they'll do?

My service turned out to have full catering and no further time was lost on the way so the arrival in London was around 0030 UK time. There were staff in both Café coaches to assist with onward travel issues, either providing a link to book a taxi for those going up to 60 miles from St Pancras (like me, getting home just before 0130), or booking hotels for those going further away (the person ahead of me in the queue was going to Derby and he got a hotel, plus something to show in the morning about the Eurostar delay when travelling by train to Derby).

 

[185143]

More problems today.

No London services beyond Brussels into The Netherlands, I think the Dutch High Speed route is off due to the snow.

 

[Perosu1]

Have you already purchased the ticket for St Pancras to Cambridge, and if so, is it a CIV ticket? See https://www.seat61.com/european-travel-from-uk-regions.htm for details

Thank you MotCO - soon after posting the Eurostar staff member came through the coach offering mr a link to book a Taxi to Cambridge so my problem was sorted.

He was telling people that any destinations up to 120 miles could be booked through the link, but if you needed to go further you could book a taxi yourself and claim back th cost from Eurostar.

That, along with the full catering, took some of the sting from arriving home at 3:30am instead of 21:50pm.

 

[Brooke]

More problems today.

No London services beyond Brussels into The Netherlands,

And it looks like delays all day again leaving Paris for London.

My wife was 1h15 late leaving Paris this morning, again due to security scanning issues.