How long in advance to arrive for Eurostar

[BluePenguin]

moderator note - split from

Utilising CIV with Eurostar

I have a ticket on the 07:04 Eurostar departure to Brussels on the 29th. I also hold a CIV (RDG -> LNE) single (unfortunately not bought against an itinerary). I intended to take the 0455 Reading to Paddington, which would give me enough time to be at St Pancras in excess of the 30 minutes...

www.railforums.co.uk

30 mins is not a suggestion, it is a requirement. The suggestion is 90 mins.

To be pedantic I have been through the gates 20 minutes before. Business Premier passengers are allowed through 10 minutes before too.

It is a suggestion, not requirement although they have you think as much. However if you are late and the queue is long you are on your own

No different to the departure gates at airports

The departure lounged at St Pancras have been rammed with people arriving too early

 

[ThameslinkUser]

To be pedantic I have been through the gates 20 minutes before

Disrection applied to a requirement does not mean it is no longer a requirement.

 

[BluePenguin]

Disrection applied to a requirement does not mean it is no longer a requirement.

The gate allowed the ticket and the staff did not quibble. Never been a requirement has it? Unless they enforce that more strongly now due to the queues since Brexit

 

[ThameslinkUser]

Never been a requirement has it?

19. Make sure you comply with the ticket gate closure and boarding time

19.1. You must comply with the ticket gate time limit indicated by us (the “ticket gate time limit”). This means you must arrive at the Eurostar departure area before the ticket gates close, or other minimum period which we may specify from time to time, before your scheduled departure time as stated on your ticket, in order to scan your ticket and carry out the necessary formalities, border controls and security checks. Disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility who require assistance from our staff shall follow the timeframe in paragraph 24.

19.2. If you arrive after the ticket gate time limit, we reserve the right not to allow you to go through the ticket gates and board your train. In such circumstances if you arrive before your scheduled departure time as stated on your ticket, you may ask, if it is possible to be reallocated on the next available train that day. Subject to availability and to the payment of a reallocation fee as indicated in Eurostar Fares and Fees, we may be able to transfer you to the next available train of the day provided this will not delay the relevant train departure.

19.3. In addition, you must be present at the boarding gate and board your Eurostar train at the latest by the boarding time as instructed by Eurostar, otherwise you might not be allowed to board your train.

How long before departure does the gate close? (mins)

30

Unless they enforce that more strongly

If there is no requirement to enforce then how can they enforce it more strongly. By virture, you've admitted you understand there is a requirement.



And, of course, in every booking confirmation is this:

 

[BluePenguin]

If there is no requirement to enforce then how can they enforce it more strongly. By virture, you've admitted you understand there is a requirement.



And, of course, in every booking confirmation is this:
View attachment 139516

True, although I have never had an issue before. I will probably avoid Eurostar until a solution to the lengthly queues is found. Not reasonable or practical to demand people arrive so early, nor morale to state the gates close

 

[Aaron1]

Never travelled on the Eurostar but I've walked past it at St Pancras station and my god what a mess it looked, hundreds of people all just stood around in what looked like an absolute rabble, no organisation at all, no staff member seemed to have taken charge, I know you get queues at airport but atleast they seem organised but this didn't on the Eurostar

 

[30907]

Never travelled on the Eurostar but I've walked past it at St Pancras station and my god what a mess it looked, hundreds of people all just stood around in what looked like an absolute rabble, no organisation at all, no staff member seemed to have taken charge, I know you get queues at airport but atleast they seem organised but this didn't on the Eurostar

I have travelled on Eurostar, and the queuing system has always been well organised and checkin speedy (security being the bottleneck).

I now aim to be in the lounge just after the previous departure has boarded, so 45min in advance, and that allows some time for NR delays.

 

[AlbertBeale]

My last few times at StP, I've learned to get there in good time for the 30-minute gate deadline (especially if it's a peak time when the queue to get to the gates in the first place can take a little while), but no more than that - because a lot of people turn up so early that the departure area can get rammed and unpleasant with more than one trainload of people trying to find a seat at once. I do take the 30 minutes as the gate cut-off seriously, "requirement" or not (though I've tended not to take much notice of other varying recommendations of 45 mins, 1 hour, or sometimes more, on different notifications at various times; sometimes very different recommendations for the same journey, depending on where you look for the information). The time to get through the security system and and passport controls takes what it takes, really, and doesn't seem to vary too much. So ensuring I'm at the ticket gate ahead of the 30 minutes, but not excessively so, gives me a fairly short time in the waiting area, between completing formalities and being allowed onto the platform. (However, I do realise that if everyone did that... so I'm really relying on a lot of other people turning up unnecessarily early...)

At the other end - especially Brussels - my experience is also that the whole process is speedier and less painless if you only turn up a little while before the ticket gate cut-off.

 

[AndyNLondon]

My most recent experience, around Easter this year, is that they do enforce the 30-minute cut off: travelling with my mum (in her 70s) to visit family in Brussels, she was delayed on the tube and just missed that 30-minute time, and so the automatic ticket barriers rejected her ticket. Staff initially told her she would have to re-book for a later train, but relented when they realised we were travelling together and that I was waiting for her in the departure lounge. They got her through the Business Premier lane as quickly as they could (including what looked like some staff-assisted queue-jumping!) and even so, boarding started before she was through and we were among the last onto the train.

 

[Trainbike46]

I always interpreted the 30 minutes rule as a "you must have joined the queue for gates and security at least 30 minutes before departure" and that is perfectly aligned with being let through the gates 20 minutes before departure, if the queue to get to the gates is ~10 minutes.

I personally tend to aim to arrive at the King's Cross St. Pancras tube station 60 minutes before departure, leading to me joining the queue about 45 minutes before departure, which (except on one occasion when I happened to be travelling on the final day before France closed the border with the UK) usually works fine for me

 

[Taunton]

Eurostar official documentation says arrive 60-90 minutes before departure (see attachment). It does seem they quote different times in different places, possibly because various different authors of tickets, websites, etc have not co-ordinated with one another.

When we arrived just 60 minutes before recently we were sent away again as "too early". Even before the security queue there is an initial pre-queue manned by contract staff letting you in through the entrance.

Because of this lengthy requirement, when there are multiple departures within the next hour (or two) there are grossly insufficient seats, and the departures area, both at St Pancras and Paris, ends up looking like something from the Indian railways. Because it only seemed to need about 10 minutes to go through all the procedures. The rest of the time was squandered waiting.

 

[ainsworth74]

It seems pretty clear that Eurostar advise passenger to arrive (at St Pancras anyway) at least sixty minutes prior to departure but that the ticket gates remain open until 30 minutes prior to departure. Which, funnily enough is exactly what it says on a ticket I've got for an upcoming journey. As long as you present yourself 30 minutes prior to departure you should be able to join the relevant queue but that is potentially cutting it fine. If you arrive less than 30 minutes prior to departure they may well refuse travel. Most likely based on how busy the queues are (at various stages) and therefore you chance of actually making it through in time.

Though in mine and other experience they're very good at grabbing people out of the queues for imminent departures and frog marching them through security even if you are cutting things tight. I once rocked up around 20 minutes before departure of the train and presented myself to a member of staff (I had been delayed by disruption on the ECML) who, very politely but forcefully, rushed me through security and into the queue for passport control. I think I must cleared everything in about ten minutes flat!

Reality is if you're travelling into London you should allow the minimum connection time (which will give you more than enough time prior to departure) and if coming from London arrive somewhere between 45 - 60 minutes prior to departure (apart perhaps obviously busy times!). Otherwise you may well face disappointment if you arrive less than 30 before departure as Eurostar would be perfectly entitled to refuse travel as it does, in effect, become at their discretion at that point.

I'm not sure why some members are arguing over these points!

 

[Brooke]

As a weekly commuter Paris / London, i confirm last two posts above:

- Pointless to arrive more than one hour before train departure, likely you will not yet be allowed to join the queue

- Do not arrive less than 30 mins before. Yes, discretion may apply, but I see plenty of customers (especially in Paris) turned away too

Your ticket / app will give a guide within this how soon before to arrive, it varies according to anticipated traffic level.

TLDR: More than 30, less than 60 will be always be fine!

(edit: if less than 30 before: you may well be charged a premium and moved to the next train)

 

[Trainbike46]

As a weekly commuter Paris / London, i confirm last two posts above:

- Pointless to arrive more than one hour before train departure, likely you will not yet be allowed to join the queue

- Do not arrive less than 30 mins before. Yes, discretion may apply, but I see plenty of customers (especially in Paris) turned away too

Your ticket / app will give a guide within this how soon before to arrive, it varies according to anticipated traffic level.

TLDR: More than 30, less than 60 will be always be fine!

(edit: if less than 30 before: you may well be charged a premium and moved to the next train)

My understanding is that check-in closes 30 minutes before departure in London and Lille, and 45 minutes before departure in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, so do consider what station you would be travelling from

 

[railfan99]

Because of this lengthy requirement, when there are multiple departures within the next hour (or two) there are grossly insufficient seats, and the departures area, both at St Pancras and Paris, ends up looking like something from the Indian railways.

In late 2019 I had three solo weeks in India travelling by rail, including on very long distance trains.

At no stage did I encounter crowding as my wife and I found in the St Pancras departure lounge last October!

 

[Teebs]

My understanding is that check-in closes 30 minutes before departure in London and Lille, and 45 minutes before departure in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, so do consider what station you would be travelling from

I think it's 30 minutes for all stations. Just checked my tickets for trips from Brussels and Paris in the last couple of months and both said gates close at 30 minutes.

 

[ainsworth74]

I think it's 30 minutes for all stations. Just checked my tickets for trips from Brussels and Paris in the last couple of months and both said gates close at 30 minutes.

Yes the only variance I've got on tickets is the suggested arrival time before departure. For a trip in September it's 60 - 90 minutes at St Pancras and 45 - 60 minutes for Gare du Nord. On both tickets it clearly says gates close 30 minutes before departure.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Yes the only variance I've got on tickets is the suggested arrival time before departure. For a trip in September it's 60 - 90 minutes at St Pancras and 45 - 60 minutes for Gare du Nord. On both tickets it clearly says gates close 30 minutes before departure.

The only thing I find slightly unclear from this discussion is whether the 30-minute gate deadline is strictly "ticket in the gate by then"; or whether if you're there by then and ready to put your ticket in the gate, but there's a queue of people waiting to get to the gates which stops you getting even that far by the cut-off, they'd always show discretion if it was obvious you arrived at the gate area in time.

 

[williamn]

At Amsterdam the other day people were still arriving for check in 18 minutes before departure! But agreed with other posters. Less than 60, more than 30 is a good rule.

 

[rg177]

I recall making the silly choice to have a loco-hauled hop between Brussels-Midi and Central and back before a Eurostar service a few weeks ago and worrying I'd shafted myself majorly (it took 25 minutes Midi to Central due to severe congestion).

In the end, I arrived 45 minutes before departure and it seemed to be perfectly timed. No queue (as everyone was already though) and sufficient time to pop into duty-free and sit for 10 mins or so before boarding.

 

[peteb]

An hour prior to departure time seems to be the optimum time to join the queue for security etc at St Pancras. There really is nothing much once past security other than a huge waiting room with toilets, a small shop and cafe. Not like at most airports so if security is quick it's a boring 30 minute wait to be let on the train. Arriving at the Brussels end headed back to UK there's a nicer (though still underground) waiting area and a large duty free shop which also sells food and drink for the journey. Pity the last time I travelled from Brussels my Eurostar was delayed leaving by 2 hours!

 

[Taunton]

Terminal facilities in general have suffered from the general, air as well as rail, move from "get here on time, if you miss the one you were going for, a nuisance, you'll have to wait for the next one, but that's all" to the current "Get here when we say, if you just miss it all you tickets are void and you'll have to pay a huge extra amount for a new Anytime (or similar) ticket". As a result people feel they have to get there far earlier than before just to be sure. Which overwhelms the terminal facilities.

 

[peteb]

Terminal facilities in general have suffered from the general, air as well as rail, move from "get here on time, if you miss the one you were going for, a nuisance, you'll have to wait for the next one, but that's all" to the current "Get here when we say, if you just miss it all you tickets are void and you'll have to pay a huge extra amount for a new Anytime (or similar) ticket". As a result people feel they have to get there far earlier than before just to be sure. Which overwhelms the terminal facilities.

Also when there's several trains departing close together St Pancras can be horribly busy, nowhere to sit etc. Brussels with it's far sparser service always seems less crowded with seats for all......

 

[YorkshireBear]

Now the timetables are out I am just looking at the train home from Cologne.
Eurostar website says arrive at Brussels 90-120 minutes before departure. The standard connection from trains is about 85 minutes. If the ICE or Thalys is late, are they likely to say that you were not scheduled to arrive at the recommended time so we won't accommodate you on the next service? Never had to worry about this before so just wanted to check how it worked considering the unreliability of German rail services now a days.

Just a 205 minute wait at Brussels is not appealing!

 

[Bletchleyite]

The only thing I find slightly unclear from this discussion is whether the 30-minute gate deadline is strictly "ticket in the gate by then"; or whether if you're there by then and ready to put your ticket in the gate, but there's a queue of people waiting to get to the gates which stops you getting even that far by the cut-off, they'd always show discretion if it was obvious you arrived at the gate area in time.

I've only had this happen once, but I did once experience a very long queue at Brussels, the back of which I joined about an hour before departure, and didn't get to the gates until several minutes after scheduled departure - not only was I still accepted but the train waited for the queue to clear and departed late.

 

[AndrewE]

Just a 205 minute wait at Brussels is not appealing!

and completely destroys the attraction of a quick city centre-to-city centre journey (i.e. selling point)

 

[williamn]

I arrived in Brussels Midi 40 mins before my Eurostar the other day thanks to a late ICE. At the ticket gates 5 mins later, all totally fine.

Being there 2 hours ahead is madness and I don’t know why they advise it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I arrived in Brussels Midi 40 mins before my Eurostar the other day thanks to a late ICE. At the ticket gates 5 mins later, all totally fine.

Being there 2 hours ahead is madness and I don’t know why they advise it.

They usually don't even *open* for a given service until about an hour before, so you'd be hanging around in the rather scummy and crime-ridden station for an hour. At least St Pancras is a nice place to spend time - Brussel-Zuid absolutely isn't, it's an abject dump and so is much of the area around it (though some of it has improved a bit with new construction).

 

[SandsofEss]

I was recently turned away at Brussels having arrived 28 minutes before my scheduled departure time. There were no queues for ticket or passport checks, but they were insistent I had to be rebooked (for free) on a later train. This was on a Standard ticket. They continued to allow Business customers through until 10 minutes beforehand.

 

[30907]

Now the timetables are out I am just looking at the train home from Cologne.
Eurostar website says arrive at Brussels 90-120 minutes before departure. The standard connection from trains is about 85 minutes. If the ICE or Thalys is late, are they likely to say that you were not scheduled to arrive at the recommended time so we won't accommodate you on the next service?

Very unlikely, bearing in mind that it also says when the ticket gates close which is still 30min

Never had to worry about this before so just wanted to check how it worked considering the unreliability of German rail services now a days.

The Brussels service has always been unreliable - I don't think it has got much worse