Filthy Eurostar trains

[OLJR]

I was travelling from St Pancras yesterday on EMT and could see the Eurostar trains from the platform and as we pulled out.

They were absolutely filthy, covered in mud, muck and grime. It presents an extremely bad image for Eurostar as these trains are the face of their brand.

Why do they let their trains get so dirty? Is it to save money? Or do they just not care?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Filthy inside as well. I don't know why, but it is very poor, and compares poorly to the spotlessly clean aircraft presented by easyJet and the likes.

Neil

 

[ian959]

I wonder how dirty you would be if you have just blasted across a continent at 186 mph for a couple of hours. Bet you would be pretty dirty too. External dirt is unavoidable. Doing a better job of cleaning is however a different matter and that is one that perhaps ALL operators could do with improving.

 

[MCR247]

I was travelling from St Pancras yesterday on EMT and could see the Eurostar trains from the platform and as we pulled out.

They were absolutely filthy, covered in mud, muck and grime. It presents an extremely bad image for Eurostar as these trains are the face of their brand.

Why do they let their trains get so dirty? Is it to save money? Or do they just not care?

Eurostar 373s are in awful condition inside and out, though with no direct rail competition why should they care...

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wonder how dirty you would be if you have just blasted across a continent at 186 mph for a couple of hours. Bet you would be pretty dirty too. External dirt is unavoidable. Doing a better job of cleaning is however a different matter and that is one that perhaps ALL operators could do with improving.

London Midland and Virgin are both excellent at this. I see no reason Eurostar should not be the same. There is no excuse for mucky trains on departure from a major terminus.

Neil
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Eurostar 373s are in awful condition inside and out, though with no direct rail competition why should they care...

easyJet have recently started more Paris routes. Hopefully they will push harder, because my last experience with Eurostar was rather inferior to flying (even flying budget, but definitely to BA) and rather expensive too.

E* clearly wins by being fastest from city centre to city centre (but I actually live far nearer Luton Airport than St P), and because of the airport security experience (which isn't half as bad as people make out). Were the two modes on a level playing field (i.e. were the airport security experience not so heavy, and were the Paris airports not so far out/busy) I doubt E* would be doing anywhere near as well, as the actual product is average to poor compared with UK domestic IC rail, IMO, and expensive too.

Neil

 

[306024]

Eurostar 373s are in awful condition inside and out, though with no direct rail competition why should they care...

Used Eurostar twice recently. Punctuality was flawless, but last week we got a free sauna on the way out, and then the most heinous crime of all, the buffet car ran out of beer on the way back, unforgivable

 

[wheelnrail]

Eurostar 373s are in awful condition inside and out, though with no direct rail competition why should they care...

Amtrak has no competition for long haul services, yet when they depart a terminus their stock is clean (Locomotives on the other hand...not so much. The P42DC's are garbage all around). Presentation is everything, a clean train at the very least to the customer makes it appear as if a company cares. For example Southern, at least superficially, they look like they do a good job at cleanliness. Thats why I prefer going with them if i have to travel in South London.

I've ridden with Eurostar once, and probably won't ever again. Everything from the cost, to the shape of the stock, to cleanliness as OP posted put me off from traveling with them. When I saw the new stock they brought out I thought it was photoshopped, it was so clean! Yes i get that trains cannot look brand new all the time, they will get grime, thats life. At least just wash it once in a while.

 

[455driver]

Do these Amtrak trains do 3 or 4 trips a day or is it just the one?

Strangely enough a train can* be spotless when it leaves the depot but by the time it has completed its first trip it can be filthy inside and out, outside from the filth that gets thrown up and inside from the filth that the great travelling public leave behind.

* I am not saying they all are, just that they can be.

Of course if TOCs had some spare trains then one or 2 could be taken out of service and given a thorough deep clean but as they dont have any spares the trains just get a quick hoover out overnight and so get dirtier from the ingrained dirt which needs to be steam cleaned off, which they dont have the time to do.

 

[carriageline]

From whenever I have seen them, the eurostars look like they have had a fair few journeys without a clean!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Abpj17]

Would you rather have x services a day, or x - a few to allow for time to clean the trains outside fully?

Unsurprisingly, planes don't spend that long a few cenitmetres off the ground so don't get as dirty.

 

[Hophead]

Of course if TOCs had some spare trains then one or 2 could be taken out of service and given a thorough deep clean but as they dont have any spares the trains just get a quick hoover out overnight and so get dirtier from the ingrained dirt which needs to be steam cleaned off, which they dont have the time to do.

If there's one train operator in this country with 'spare trains', it's Eurostar

 

[Wolfie]

I have to say that I used Eurostar to and from Brussels on Thu/Fri. While the exterior was grubby at best the interior on both trains was worn but clean. That is pretty typical in my experience.

 

[ModernRailways]

I have to say that I used Eurostar to and from Brussels on Thu/Fri. While the exterior was grubby at best the interior on both trains was worn but clean. That is pretty typical in my experience.

That's always my experience too. The inside is always pretty clean from my experience, just the age is starting to show.

 

[Monty]

It's doesn't help that the interior is pretty drab and dark, my experience is that the trains are cleaner than they may actually appear. The outside is a different matter, but that's what happens when you paint your trains white (I really don't why TOCs still do this), however the new livery E* have come up with should partially solve that problem. What the 373s really need is a brighter and more up to date interior which they are scheduled to get in the next few years.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would you rather have x services a day, or x - a few to allow for time to clean the trains outside fully?

London Midland seem to be able to keep theirs clean by putting them through the washer once a day or thereabouts, I believe. I'd venture the view that Eurostar, and for that matter Northern, aren't doing this. They have mucky carpets, but that just highlights why carpet is a bad choice for regional rolling stock and vinyl would be better - all you need to do then is mop it out. It looks spartan, but you can use e.g. wood effect to make it look more homely.

OTOH muck on the windowsills is just sloppy. Though dont get me started on why no TOC cleaners bother cleaning the black filth off ventilation grilles - it takes a quick wipe with a cloth yet it's never done. Why I wonder?

As for inside, again a decent clean once a day, and litter pickers walking through. VT even do this during each journey.

Neil
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It's doesn't help that the interior is pretty drab and dark, my experience is that the trains are cleaner than they may actually appear. The outside is a different matter, but that's what happens when you paint your trains white

Actually, SWT (given your profile pic) are excellent at keeping their trains clean as well, including the white ones.

Not so doing just shows "can't be bothered". And TBH, the feeling of "can't be bothered" echoes throughout Eurostar's entire operation.

Neil

 

[Johnnie2Sheds]

I cant speak about the French end but Temple Mills was to have two washers, but ended up with one due to a variety of reasons, that I cannot discuss on here. If you consider a 400 metre long train going through the washer at a couple of MPH....sorry KPH... time taken for one train is quite a while, so theres no chance of washing every train each night.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I cant speak about the French end but Temple Mills was to have two washers, but ended up with one due to a variety of reasons, that I cannot discuss on here. If you consider a 400 metre long train going through the washer at a couple of MPH....sorry KPH... time taken for one train is quite a while, so theres no chance of washing every train each night.

Then they need to find a way to get more washers, as what they have is clearly insufficient. Or employ lots of people with buckets and brushes. Because that's an excuse, not a reason.

I expect most trains aren't washed every day, but built up grime is just sloppy on what calls itself a premium service.

Neil

 

[Johnnie2Sheds]

Oh I'm not making excuses for them. Far from it. Their trains are disgusting.

 

[anme]

I've always found the Eurostar trains to be very clean inside, and I'm a regular. They are often grubby outside, but I find it hard to get very worked up about it.

 

[ModernRailways]

Not so doing just shows "can't be bothered". And TBH, the feeling of "can't be bothered" echoes throughout Eurostar's entire operation.

I've always thought Eurostar are/were bothered. Maybe not as much as they should be, but staff are always very attentive and always seem to have a smile on their face. I've met two or three in the buffet car who have asked about my accent and what Newcastle is like as a place to visit etc. Most trains are on time (or close enough), and they are, for the most part, clean on the inside with the outside being dirty. A lot of my trains have however been relatively clean, but some images of the really scruffy looking ones do make you think 'maybe they should wash it' .

 

[ChiefPlanner]

You never see a dirty ICE - and rarely a dirty TGV !

 

[EM2]

...on what calls itself a premium service.

Does it, though?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Does it, though?

Certainly in First Class it does.

Neil

 

[EM2]

Certainly in First Class it does.

Like any other long-distance operator, then.

 

[duesselmartin]

It seems that European trains are getting generally filthier. In Germany I frequently find that the area around the door knob is clean, the rest grimy. Or if the numbering changed, that area is cleaned, the rest dirty.
Cleaning definitly seems to be a cost cutting factor. Easy to clean surfaces (Lino) on the inside, no cleaning on the outside

 

[Abpj17]

London Midland seem to be able to keep theirs clean by putting them through the washer once a day or thereabouts, I believe. I'd venture the view that Eurostar, and for that matter Northern, aren't doing this. They have mucky carpets, but that just highlights why carpet is a bad choice for regional rolling stock and vinyl would be better - all you need to do then is mop it out. It looks spartan, but you can use e.g. wood effect to make it look more homely.

They are High Speed Trains - how far / how much mud do they travel through in a day vs. your average London Midland train?

 

[ModernRailways]

You never see a dirty ICE - and rarely a dirty TGV !

The ICE 1 and ICE 2 are always scruffy on the exterior when I've travelled on them. The ICE 3's have also started to get a little grubby. The insides however are well kept.

The same goes for the TGVs, and oddly, the SNCF Eurostar rakes are often scruffy too.

 

[flash]

Every time the trains go to the depot at TMI they are cleaned - but then not every train goes there each night. The wash was specified by CTRL and not ES, so was done a budget!
As too having staff clean the train exterior by hand - how many staff would you need to clean a 400m train? At what cost? Given that they don't yet have shareholders how much would tickets cost - no doubt more than now. Admittedly the trains aren't the cleanest - but when did you last wash your car? The trains spend 1/7 of their journey in the 'tunnel' which has to be the dustiest place known to man - all the road grime falling of the lorries. I would say comparisons to other TOCs is not comparing like with like.
The interiors have the standard litter pick / hoover that others do - all done by staff on minimum wages / conditions of service, so why is it expected that they wipe every surface? I assume that your house gets the absolute best clean every day?
Typical moans me thinks!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It's not just dusty in the Chunnel; it's extremely hot and humid in there as well, so the dirt sticks on like glue.

 

[33Hz]

As a Carte Blanche holder I've traveled dozens of times in first and standard in the past few years and have no problem with cleanliness or to be honest, any other aspect of the service except the cold food offering in standard premier. Yes the outsides could do with a more thorough clean sometimes but they are far from the worst offender. Travel on a Parisian suburban train if you want to see filthy.