Baggage Security Checks at Eurostar Paris Gare du Nord

[leytongabriel]

Security checking of Eurostar passengers' baggage at Gare du Nord has passed from the border police to a private security firm.
There are considerably fewer of them on duty and from the profile of the staff it seems like this is a money-saving operation.
They don't really know how to talk to passengers (comment from a nearby Eurostar staff member when I last passed through) and seem to have a rather
easy going view of checking the screens involving keeping an eye on them whilst chatting. There didn't seem to be staff in place ready to look into bags if they did see anything that needed to be checked either!
Pretty worrying from a security point of view.

 

[crablab]

Pretty worrying from a security point of view.

Really? Don't remember hearing about the new security checkpoints for all the Swiss commuters going through the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

It's security theatre.

 

[jon0844]

Does anyone ever get asked to open their bags for a more detailed check on Eurostar?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Really? Don't remember hearing about the new security checkpoints for all the Swiss commuters going through the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

It's security theatre.

In any case, private security firms (or staff employed by the airport rather than the Government, it varies) are used at most airports and seem to do a perfectly decent job. There are generally far fewer whinges about them than the universally hated TSA in the States!

It all depends on the quality of the contractor, really. I'd not put any of Northern's Carlisle staff anywhere near it, but not all security contractors are that poor quality.

Does anyone ever get asked to open their bags for a more detailed check on Eurostar?

I was once, when a German layout keyboard I was bringing back looked for all the world like an automatic weapon*! Only the once though.

* It had a thick bit at the top, the cable wrapped round it like a strap and a thick bit at the end where it had batteries so it could be used as a standalone calculator. The bit where the keys were didn't really show up.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

I did wonder why my passage through Gare du Nord yesterday was so much smoother and faster than the last n times I've done it. Though it was noticeable that the security staff weren't really interested in chivvying along some of the more clueless passengers in the way they would at St Pancras.

 

[Gordon]

I had a lengthy discussion with Canadian security at Calgary airport in August. (1) bag diverted into the 'manual check' conveyor; (2) "are you carrying any bullets sir"; (3) ...erm.. no...); (4) after lengthy inspection, we came to the conclusion the offending item was a 'posh' slimline freebie pen from the hotel room at the Fairmont Banff

 

[PupCuff]

Does anyone ever get asked to open their bags for a more detailed check on Eurostar?

I've had a couple of manual bag checks on Eurostar this year, it seems fairly inconsistent as to whether they'll want to do additional checks or not to be honest. Fairly painless, if a little time consuming.

The most odd Eurostar security check though was Lille, where they sent me through the metal detector, which did it's usual beeping, but there was nobody the other side staffing the thing to actually do anything about it.

 

[Trainbike46]

Does anyone ever get asked to open their bags for a more detailed check on Eurostar?

That's happened to me, though not frequently

I did wonder why my passage through Gare du Nord yesterday was so much smoother and faster than the last n times I've done it. Though it was noticeable that the security staff weren't really interested in chivvying along some of the more clueless passengers in the way they would at St Pancras.

Anything that makes the experience smoother seems like a good thing to me!

 

[blackfive460]

I've had to open the bag at St. Pancras just once.
Apparently an unwrapped bar of soap can look remarkably similar to a block of plastic explosive!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I've had to open the bag at St. Pancras just once.
Apparently an unwrapped bar of soap can look remarkably similar to a block of plastic explosive!

I got taken apart at Gare du Nord once. I had about 20 packets of these biscuits in my suitcase ( they weren't available in the UK at the time - they are these days ).

It's not the biscuits per se that were the problem; each packet contains two sub packets which are foil wrapped... so when a case full of them goes through the X-ray machine...

 

[Re 4/4]

I did once see someone pulled over at Gare du Nord for a manual bag check, and it looked like he had around 20 Swiss army knives in his bag, still in the original packaging. That'll take a bit of explaining I guess.

 

[PupCuff]

I did once see someone pulled over at Gare du Nord for a manual bag check, and it looked like he had around 20 Swiss army knives in his bag, still in the original packaging. That'll take a bit of explaining I guess.

Depending on the size of the blade, that may be allowed:

Small folding pocket knives with blades under 75mm without a locking mechanism are the exception and are permitted.

Prohibited and restricted items | Eurostar

What you can and cannot take on board as luggage.

www.eurostar.com

 

[Bletchleyite]

Depending on the size of the blade, that may be allowed:

Prohibited and restricted items | Eurostar

What you can and cannot take on board as luggage.

www.eurostar.com

I think the suggestion was more that they might have been stolen or being otherwise illegally imported rather than whether they were allowed through security or not per-se.

 

[PupCuff]

I think the suggestion was more that they might have been stolen or being otherwise illegally imported rather than whether they were allowed through security or not per-se.

That's fair. I've never bought that much stuff on the continent to bring back with me so I've never considered at what point you'd start to hit import issues.

 

[cool110]

That's fair. I've never bought that much stuff on the continent to bring back with me so I've never considered at what point you'd start to hit import issues.

On top of the alcohol and tobacco allowances, you can bring £390 worth of other goods duty/VAT free if arriving on commercial transport (£270 if using a private boat or aircraft).

 

[williamn]

As someone else said it’s just theatre. We don’t scan bags on trains that go through the Severn Tunnel or any other long tunnel. I’d be very happy if they did away with it altogether.

 

[DaveB10780]

Does anyone ever get asked to open their bags for a more detailed check on Eurostar?

Just two weeks ago at St Pancras they thought they could see a knife. Took 5 minutes for someone to show up then they took everything out and dumped it in a tray. Since I didn't have a knife eventually I was allowed to repack and carry on.

 

[ivanhoe]

Don’t why OP is worried about the security. It’s just another hurdle we have to jump through. The quicker, the better, as in any airport that I’ve used. I understand the reason for it, the Tunnel, but I reckon unseen profilers are looking at people as we enter the security area. We will not know of course but my Lad worked at EMA in security area and he said you may see Leicestershire Police with automatic weapons, the visible deterrent but it’s the people who you cannot see that make this ‘circus’ work.

 

[signed]

Any security, beit Airport, train (looking at you Spain), is a deterrent for the garden variety malicious actor. Anyone that truely wants to trick it, can do it relatively easily (though the new milimeter wave scanners will make that harder)

 

[miami]

Really? Don't remember hearing about the new security checkpoints for all the Swiss commuters going through the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

It's security theatre.

Bingo. If you want to save money get rid of them completely.

The metal detector part especially is hilarious -- what are they looking for? What damage will you be able to do on the 1515 from St Pancras to Paris that you can't do on the 1515 to Sheffield?

Maybe have a couple of sniffer dogs smelling for explosives, but what damage could I do with a suitcase full of explosives that I couldn't do with 4 suitcases full of explosives and 100kWh of elecrtic car battery on eurotunnel?

Last time I went to Europe I had to send my toolbox (with long screwdrivers, leatherman, etc) ahead of me. Most of my colleagues fly because of the studpid security rules.

(On my way back I did have my bag searched - at St Pancras, by customs, presumably I looked dodgy. They found a role of gaffer tape and were very interested, apparently people use gaffer tape to smuggle money)

 

[sprunt]

I think the suggestion was more that they might have been stolen or being otherwise illegally imported rather than whether they were allowed through security or not per-se.

That's not the security staff's problem though is it? Would they do anything if it looked like there were too many cigarettes in a case?

 

[leshuttle]

Had a rather brief but unpleasant experience with a security personnel at Eurostar Amsterdam earlier this year, angry and suspicious of me that I didn't take my passport out of my pocket before passing through the metal scanner.