St Pancras expansion

[Sad Sprinter]

That's not what the French have been saying!

Trying to drum up support for LGV Picardie?

 

[martin2345uk]

Trying to drum up support for LGV Picardie?

Sadly I think that one’s dead in the water

 

[Bald Rick]

That's not what the French have been saying!

It gets close in a couple of hours, with 4 Eurostars + 4 domestic to/from Gare du Nord, and another couple to/from the bypass line. But at most 4 of those head north of Lille towards the tunnel, and that includes 2 London services in the hour. In most hours there are fewer services, and even in the peak you could get more in.

 

[Brubulus]

That requires political change, not railway change. The Security and Border arrangements are legally mandated. I can't see the UK Home office agreeing to loosen checks on the cross-channel border anytime soon.

I can see the security checks being loosened, not the passport checks for obvious reasons. However hopefully both sides can become automated making it effectively a glorified ticket barrier for most users. Longer term Brexit related challenges will remain but they will be lessened for leisure travel once Eurostar finally accepts people should turn up 10-15 minutes before and get through in no more than 5 minutes.

Spain has security on domestic HS routes and this doesn't become some great impediment requiring arrival an hour before.

 

[NCT]

The security queue at Barcelona Sants can be similarly frustrating as at St Pancras. Then you are funnelled through the manual ticket checks before you are let onto the platform. I'd say the overall 'anxiety factor' is similar between the two stations. You'd definitely leave a 'I'd better get to the station early' allowance that you wouldn't with German or Swiss trains.

 

[Farnborough]

It very much depends on where your door is. I can be at Stansted in twenty minutes, it would take me about an hour and a half to get to St. Pancras!

Indeed... and with all the prevarication about a Heathrow Southern Rail Link, I can get a bus to LHR T5 in approx. 45 minutes - it's at least 1 1/2 hours to St.P, involving a local bus, a train and two underground legs. Very suboptimal if carrying luggage.

And for the avoidance of any doubt, the same bus-stop (10 minutes walk) applies...