• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Eurostar and the virus

Status
Not open for further replies.

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
I hear airlines are pruning back scheduled will Eurostar do the same? Is it a cleaner way to travel given one an airplane you share all the air? Do you think they will offer refunds to people wanting to travel? Is there anybody unsure about going abroad in the next few months?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

alex397

Established Member
Joined
6 Oct 2017
Messages
1,546
Location
UK
Judging by Eurostar's Twitter feed, there are currently no plans for any change to the schedule because of Coronavirus.

I'm travelling all over Germany in April using Eurostar and DB, with train tickets and hotels all booked. I'm starting to get concerned about it now, especially as a lot may change in 4-5 weeks.
 

duesselmartin

Established Member
Joined
18 Jan 2014
Messages
1,902
Location
Duisburg, Germany
I think we should observe withot panik reaction. The actual case numbers are still verly low in comparsion with the general population.
So at this time I would not be concerned unless there are other personal health issues.
One should certainly monitor the situation and before travelling see if one is comfortable in doing so.
Panic buying and locking yourself in as a healthy person is rubbish. You will have to go out anyway, most of us to work.
 

StephenHunter

Established Member
Joined
22 Jul 2017
Messages
2,118
Location
London
Judging by Eurostar's Twitter feed, there are currently no plans for any change to the schedule because of Coronavirus.

I'm travelling all over Germany in April using Eurostar and DB, with train tickets and hotels all booked. I'm starting to get concerned about it now, especially as a lot may change in 4-5 weeks.

I'd recommend to make sure that you have travel insurance; in the event that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says 'don't go' then you will be covered. Ditto for any major quarantines.
 

blackfive460

Member
Joined
23 Jun 2010
Messages
827
I'd recommend to make sure that you have travel insurance; in the event that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says 'don't go' then you will be covered. Ditto for any major quarantines.
Be careful though as many policies, such as the one I have from last year bought before anyone knew about this virus, do not include cover for what they refer to as 'Catastrophe' and which includes epidemics and pandemics. I haven't checked with the company to see if FCO advice overrules that exclusion but if I cancel my forthcoming trip I'm pretty sure I'll be standing the loss.
 

StephenHunter

Established Member
Joined
22 Jul 2017
Messages
2,118
Location
London
My one covers natural disaster, including pandemics... but not if I actually get the disease and die.
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
I think we should observe withot panik reaction. The actual case numbers are still verly low in comparsion with the general population.
So at this time I would not be concerned unless there are other personal health issues.
One should certainly monitor the situation and before travelling see if one is comfortable in doing so.
Panic buying and locking yourself in as a healthy person is rubbish. You will have to go out anyway, most of us to work.

Whilst we should all take sensible precautions, the total number of Coronavirus deaths so far is equal to the *daily* average number of people killed on the world's roads...
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
SNCF not letting me cancel or rearrange my ticket due to me not travelling to Italy.

LNER and one of my hotels are letting me change or refund.
 

StephenHunter

Established Member
Joined
22 Jul 2017
Messages
2,118
Location
London
Considering that most of Italy is still 'green' on the FCO travel advice site, there's no reason legally why SNCF should let you cancel. They're still running trains to Italy after all.
 

miami

Established Member
Joined
3 Oct 2015
Messages
3,164
Location
UK
Whilst we should all take sensible precautions, the total number of Coronavirus deaths so far is equal to the *daily* average number of people killed on the world's roads...

In the US alone, at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000 (it takes months for the final figures to come in)

Total in 2018-2019 flu season in the US was 34,000. In 2017/18 it was 61,000.
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
They are offering to exchange the ticket for a fee £30 each journey. Actually cheaper to buy a whole new ticket with a £29 fare what an absolute rip off.
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
I read sncf offering full refunds what’s keeping Eurostar doing the same?
 

30907

Veteran Member
Joined
30 Sep 2012
Messages
17,867
Location
Airedale
On the website I was able to find a full refund for my trip to Lyon and Basel too should I go ahead and cancel
Regular TGV fares are now refundable - the non-refundable ones are now on Ouigo. Excellent news about Basel, because cheapest Lyria fares apparently aren't
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
Do you think Eurostar will change there policy seems lots of unhappy people on Twitter. I seen a post today very empty Eurostar station someone got through passport control with 20 mins before there train.
 

hooverboy

On Moderation
Joined
12 Oct 2017
Messages
1,372
I'd recommend to make sure that you have travel insurance; in the event that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says 'don't go' then you will be covered. Ditto for any major quarantines.
take out travel insurance for sure, but do be aware that you will be expected to follow all FCO advice .In the event of FCO saying "don't go",and you still go, you will not be covered because you haven't followed their instructions.

if FCO says don't go ,and you don't,but have already paid for the ticket, then you are entitled to claim a refund.

if things change while you are over there, follow the website advice and do as instructed.
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
Seen a post on Twitter about cancellations and also one train 50% empty due to no shows. Still no sign of refunds yet though
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
How long will they keep taking people’s money? Still not offering free cancellations
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Seen a post on Twitter about cancellations and also one train 50% empty due to no shows. Still no sign of refunds yet though

How long will they keep taking people’s money? Still not offering free cancellations

Looking at their website FAQ on the matter, the generic "our standard conditions still apply" answer to virtually everything hardly smacks of "Customer Service"...

Though this is the point where decent Travel Insurance has its worth...
 

StephenHunter

Established Member
Joined
22 Jul 2017
Messages
2,118
Location
London
Until/Unless the relevant governments decide to close their borders, the trains will continue to run.
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
France has declared level 3 to avoid all non essential travel. Belgium also on the list are they going to issue refunds now?
 

StephenHunter

Established Member
Joined
22 Jul 2017
Messages
2,118
Location
London
France has declared level 3 to avoid all non essential travel. Belgium also on the list are they going to issue refunds now?

Which government has declared that? There are no travel restrictions imposed in any of the four Eurostar countries.
 

Gadget88

Member
Joined
23 Aug 2013
Messages
811
Warning - Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel—Widespread Sustained Transmission

What countries are included in this notice?
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Monaco
  • San Marino
  • Vatican City
What is the current situation?
CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to the specified countries listed above. There may be limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas. Widespread, sustained spread of a respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus (COVID-19) has been reported in countries in this region.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top