France railway strikes and Eurostar

[Steve4031]

Greetings, I am planning a trip to Paris in July. We take the QM2 from New York to Southhampton and then we are planning to get to Paris on the Eurostar. If there are railway strikes in France, how will this affect Eurostar? How long do the strikes last? If it is a day or so we could just spend an extra day in London. If it is longer, then we might have to have a plan B.

If there is a strike? would it be possible to get to Brussels or Amsterdam on the Eurostar?

Thank you.

 

[rvdborgt]

Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.
July is way too far from now to be able to say anything. Although July is not the favourite strike season.

 

[Steve4031]

I understand that it is difficult to predict when a strike would occur. My question is what would likely happen IF one occurred on the French Railway system?

If Eurostars are not affected by strikes then we have nothing to worry about. If strikes affect Eurostar's then I would need to have a plan B.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It isn't always a case of "French railway strike = Eurostar closed".
It depends which unions are involved and how critical they are to operation.
It has been known for French-operated Eurostars to be cancelled but UK/Belgian-operated trains to run, so some journeys would be disrupted, others not.
The current French strikes are mainly political and across multiple sectors, and it's impossible to say how they will develop.
Note that other transport modes in France could well be affected.
And note that today, virtually all German public transport (including Lufthansa) is stopped by a widespread strike.
It isn't just France.

 

[Steve4031]

Thank you for the clarification. I was aware of the German strikes. Our flight back to the United States is on United a few days after we were to arrive in Paris. If we can get to Gare Du Nord we would probably be able to make our way to the hotel but we understand it could be difficult if the cabs and metro were on strike at the same time. Knowing that we could switch to Brussels or Amsterdam is helpful.

 

[ainsworth74]

Over recent weeks, even on the big strike days, Eurostar have been running services. On days where there isn't a big strike they seem to cancel one or two trains. On the bigger days its more trains cancelled. But I've not seen them throw the towel in and run nothing.

 

[Steve4031]

Over recent weeks, even on the big strike days, Eurostar have been running services. On days where there isn't a big strike they seem to cancel one or two trains. On the bigger days its more trains cancelled. But I've not seen them throw the towel in and run nothing.

Thank you. It might make sense for me to pay for the highest fare so I can switch trains easily.

 

[ainsworth74]

Thank you. It might make sense for me to pay for the highest fare so I can switch trains easily.

If your train is cancelled you can change train for no extra cost. You might want to have a look on their Strike page to get an idea of what's going on at the moment. There's another big day coming up tomorrow and they've only cancelled a handful of trains.

French unions are calling for a day of mobilisation on Tuesday 28 March.
It will involve disruption across multiple sectors, including national rail services and it will have an impact on the availability of some of our crew.

This means, we’ve had to cancel two trains on Tuesday 28 March:

From London to Paris
Train 9028 (departure from London: 13:31; arrival in Paris: 16:47)

From Paris to London
Train 9007 (departure from Paris: 07:13; arrival in London: 08:30)

If your train is not listed, it’s currently scheduled to run as normal.

The full impact of the strike will only be known nearer the time. We will do everything we can to prevent additional cancellations. If we can’t avoid further changes to our timetable, we will update this page and directly contact any affected customers as soon as possible. As a precautionary measure, some trains have been closed for sale until the full impact is known.

If other dates are affected by the strike, we will provide further updates as soon as they become available.

If your Eurostar train is cancelled, you can:

• Exchange your booking for free to travel at a different time/date in the same travel class (subject to availability). OR
• Cancel your booking and claim a Eurostar e-voucher valid for 12 months OR
• Cancel your booking and claim a refund from where you originally bought your ticket. If you bought your ticket directly from Eurostar, your claim will be processed within 28 days.

Find out more about your options.

If you choose to travel at a different time/date, please ensure that you exchange your ticket before going to the station. Where possible, we recommend that you postpone your journey until later in the year as the strike may continue.

Disruptions | Travel News | Eurostar

Eurostar travel news and service information. Check travel details for delays, track work and any service updates.

www.eurostar.com

 

[rvdborgt]

Thank you. It might make sense for me to pay for the highest fare so I can switch trains easily.

Not really.
If your train is cancelled, you're entitled to use the next available train at no extra cost. Or travel on another date of your choice at no extra cost. The only constraint is that there must be free seats, so that's no different than a flexible ticket.

 

[dutchflyer]

The highest fare is for ´business'or 1st/premier or whatever they call it now-which may-or may not-mean there will be for the unfortunate case more available seats on other services.
It is also a matter of who strikes-if its also signalmen/traffic regulation, then no train can run on that piece of line-whoever is the operator.
Currently in Portugal, where also a strike-season for upcoming april is predicted and just read that Finland (not know for that) is also so dissatisfied they turned to strike.

 

[LoonyToon]

My experience is that if Eurostar cancel trains due to French industrial action then it tends to be the early morning trains and the late afternoon/evening trains more than anything else.
My advise would be to book a late morning/early afternoon train and you should be bonza!

 

[Dougal2345]

Are the 'big' strike days (like to-day) generally confined to working/week days?

(I'm planning to travel through France over the Easter weekend so hoping Easter Saturday-Easter Monday might be unaffected )

And I would guess that (as a last resort) BlaBlaCar might not be affected by strikes?

 

[Welby]

Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.
July is way too far from now to be able to say anything. Although July is not the favourite strike season.

Yes July is not France's favourite strike season... They are usually already on holiday in July & August.

 

[ainsworth74]

My experience is that if Eurostar cancel trains due to French industrial action then it tends to be the early morning trains and the late afternoon/evening trains more than anything else.
My advise would be to book a late morning/early afternoon train and you should be bonza!

Yes my suspicion is that those are most prone as I'm guessing they're worked by French crews so Eurostar can't cover them without lodging UK staff in France.

 

[Steve4031]

Thank you. I was already planning for a midday departure. It also helps to know that July isn’t normally a strike month. I understand that if the situation doesn’t get resolved the workers might strike even so.