Eurostar Hint - allow plenty of time at St Pancras

Yes, for about a year now it has been advised to get to St Pancras at least 60 minutes ahead of time.

eurostar's own advice remains at minimum 30 minutes but 45 at weekends and holidays.

Thank you for this. Would 1 1/2 hours now be the recommended stress free time?

Thanks for sharing this Lisa!

We will be in London in October and have already purchased our Eurostar tickets for Paris. We travel on the 1550 on a Thursday. I'm planning to get there around 1400.

Other than the stress from almost missing the train, what did you think of the Eurostar? After reading up, we determined that to just ride standard fare. There didn't seem to be enough extra to make the more expensive tickets worthwhile.

It brings back memories of trundling from Switzerland to Milan in second class back in 1966. We had to stop at the border for the Italians to check everyone's passport.

Be sure and have your own pen to fill out the immigration form found on the tables prior to going through the luggage screening and then immigration. There are never any pens and failure to complete that form will mean you get sent back to the end of the line.

Bear in mind the waiting space AFTER security is limited (as are the facilities) and if busy they may not let you checkin before the previous train has left. Also, if you have paid for a flexible ticket and get there so early that checkin is still open for the previous train you may be allowed to change to that (ask at the ticket desk not at checkin). In fact at Brussels you may be allowed to do it on cheaper tickets because they are more easy going!

The standard class on the old style trains is pretty much the same as French TGV only less hideous to look at. The new trains are actually German ICE trains in a different colour.

The difference between Standard Economy and Standard Premier is significant, on some trains the price difference may not be. For the upgrade you get a 1st Class seat which is much bigger, with an airline style meal, water, coffee and bar service all included

Standard class on Eurostar is fine, the trip is only a little more than 2 hours.

Thank you for this! Traveling in October and probably would have gone by the 30 min prior recommendation.

Both in May and in July for the EuroStar the lines were huge. I was caught by surprise in May that the lines and security check was so time consuming, made it anyway. It's best to get there early regardless what the advice is, one reason for staying at Kings Cross.

I have been recommending at least an hour for several months now.

I think that 1 hour + might be good.
There is plenty to do at Gare du Nord while waiting.
After you fill out your declaration, you can get something to eat in the Lounge upstairs.

You will have only 20 minutes to board your train after it's announced.

Watch the time and try to get in line early. Pack light. Watch your gadgets.

You might add another 15 minutes or so to buy a sandwich or salad and drink for the train. Marks and Sparks Simply Food is very near the Eurostar entrance; other shops are nearby ( Fortnum and Mason? Really?)
https://stpancras.com/maps

I love that Fortnum & Mason -- it means I don't have to make a trip to the real one to stock up on my tea! Nor do I have to carry it with me during my entire London trip . . . and prices are the same as at the mother ship!

Yep. We went from London to Paris in July and got there 2 hours ahead and were very happy that we did. The person we were renting our apartment from told us to treat it like taking a flight and note to go by what Eurostar says as he had seen many people miss their train.
Our experience was great and I agree that standard fare is fine.

The thing to keep in mind is that while you are traveling by train you also are leaving one country and entering another, so the Eurostar train is not that dissimilar from flying. Think of it in that light -- needing to go through customs, etc. -- and you will naturally come to the conclusion that two hours before departure is when you should arrive.

The thing to keep in mind is that while you are traveling by train you also are leaving one country and entering another, so the Eurostar train is not that dissimilar from flying. Think of it in that light -- needing to go through customs, etc. -- and you will naturally come to the conclusion that two hours before departure is when you should arrive.

Sorry, but that's rubbish.
There is NO customs between Britain and France because they are both in the EU.
The reason you have to get there at least 30 minutes before is:

A) The Channel Tunnel treaty says security checks (luggage X-Ray) has to be done on all travellers going through the Channel Tunnel. This is perhaps a legacy that when the Channel Tunnel Treaty was being signed (1986) it was the height of the IRA campaigns. That is thankfully over, but nobody will ever stand up and say less security is needed.
However, they don't apply this policy as strictly to people taking their cars on trains through the Channel Tunnel between Folkestone and Calais, so it is inconsistent.

B) The UK is not in the Schengen Area, so passport Checks are needed. The UK government insists passport checks (both UK exit and Schengen/French entrance) are done before boarding the train. This is the second source of delay.

No other border in Europe insists on such checks. The "normal" way to do border checks is on the moving train, when there is plenty of time to do it. But, The UK government will not allow this.

The Eurostar ticket gates at St Pancras open 60 minutes before departure, and close 30 minutes before departure (10 minutes for 1st class tickets). You cannot get through the ticket gates before then, you have to wait. They do this because there is limited capacity in the waiting area after passport checks.
Aiming to arrive at St Pancras 70 minutes before departure is OK, you need time to get through the station, but any earlier will result in you waiting around.
The official advice on the company website (here: https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en/travel-info/your-trip/check-in ) is:
Check in at least 30 minutes before departure, 45 minutes at busy times like weekends and bank holidays.

I think Brian meant passport control, not customs (it's a common confusion). Part of the reason the check-in takes longer is indeed because you have to go through passport control -- and, even better, for BOTH countries in your departure city. That is, in Paris, you exit France by going through French passport control, and then "enter" the UK because you go through UK passport control there in Paris in the Gare du Nord. The same thing happens in reverse in London.

This is nice as it means you walk straight off the train in London and don't have to go through passport control there -- but it does add to the time necessary in your departure city (Paris).

So it's not only that you go through passport control for the country you're departing - you go through the arriving one too. So yes it takes some time, and it's not rubbish to mention it.

Yes Kim, but the point I was trying to make is that there is nothing special about "leaving one country and entering another". That happens all over Europe and is not the reason for the extra bureaucracy and delays.

"Part of the reason the check-in takes longer is indeed because you have to go through passport control -- and, even better, for BOTH countries in your departure city." - yes, but on other borders they DO NOT have segregated international trains, nor do they do border control before boarding the train. International trains are the same as national trains, they are just extended across borders and any checks are done on the train without adding time to the journey.

They do not impose the X-ray requirement on cars going through the Channel Tunnel, nor on other undersea rail routes (Severn tunnel, Øresund link).

The reason you have to be there 30 minutes early is the totally unreasonable requirement from the UK government to do luggage X-ray and border control before getting on the train. I cross borders on trains regularly, and nowhere else is there such an unnecessary government-imposed waste of time and money.

wrong Chris, the X-ray rule was a joint decision with the French along with the hugely expensive fire retention rules for the trains which were later dropped. And the Spanish X ray luggage before boarding AVE trains which don't cross any borders.

The Eurotunnel facilities have x-ray devices, sniffer dogs, ion trace machines, CO2 detection wands and detention cells, but it is true that for most travelers the interactions with the French and UK Border officers is through the window of a car.

I get the random more intense screening around once in ten trips, or around once a year. Much heavier queues in France this (OK- last) month but still manageable, the the French officers check all passengers against three no-travel databases.

Nigel, with longer queues in France for the Eurostar do you recommend arriving more than an hour ahead at Gare du Nord?

Pam, I always liked what someone recommended above-- 70 minutes. I.e. just a little bit more than an hour. Lately I haven't had any issues, but it's nice to have that cushion.

And to Chris-- of course traveling between the UK and France is different than traveling between most other European countries (i.e. between any two of the 26 Schengen member states). The UK is not a member of the Schengen agreement, which means that border crossings are different as their borders are not mutually open as among Schengen member states (including Switzerland). I'm quite sure that you know this so I don't understand why you think it's odd that the border procedures are different for intra-Schengen border crossings as compared to border crossings from a Schengen state to a non-Schengen state and vice versa (e.g. UK to France or France to UK). It's a political decision that the UK made to retain greater control over their borders, so the other states have to deal with it and they have to institute border checks and whatever else they've agreed upon.

My comments on my personal experiences last week were based on the Eurotunnel, the car shuttle train between Calais and Folkestone, not the Eurostar train which takes passengers in seats between Paris/Brussels/Lille to London.

But if it were I, I would have plenty of time in Gare du Nord in Paris. It is a tiny bit hidden, you need to go up one flight to check in, and I have seen plenty of crowds there in the past. Given that the Schengen countries are making detailed checks of people leaving the Schengen area I'd err on the side of caution. You may not actually check in any earlier nor get through security and 2 passport checks, but you may be able to check in on time rather than waiting in a long queue to check in. Make sense?

Kim, thank you so much. I will go with 70 minutes but will probably have more than that, lol!!

Nigel, thank you as well. Yes, your description makes perfect sense. I've arrived at Gare du Nord by Eurostar before but never departed from there. I did know you had to take the escalators upstairs to do the border control/check in and for the Eurostar waiting room but was not sure how much space there was there. Have been crammed in to the waiting area at St Pancras when the trains were running an hour an a half late so several trainloads of folks were packed in there.

I booked a guided day trip package from London - Paris. I sprung for the hotel transfer as departure times are a bit too early for a tube ride. Tour operator says be ready at hotel desk at 5am for pick up. I think the train departs St Pancras at 6:30am. Should I trust that the tour operator knows what they are doing?

I have no idea. I don't know your tour operator not his or her morals.

Bob, is this a Saturday, there don't seem to be any Paris departures near that on other days. If it's a weekday it must mean 6:30 check-in deadline for the 7:00 train, a 5:00 pickup in central London would probably deliver you before checkin had opened.

the key words in your query are "day trip" - which implies no suitcases to X-ray. I don't see a problem with these timings.

Thanks SteveB!

This is a day trip on a Thursday next March 2018 booked through GoldenTours.

I would expect when paying for a guided tour package the operator has done this many times before and knows the routine.