My partner and I have enjoyed Eurostar from London since the days of Waterloo International (how we…read moremiss Waterloo International!). The facility at St Pancras, particularly compared to other UK stations, is pretty impressive. The building is housed in a stunning red-brick building with vaulted ceilings, lots of natural light, and modern facilities, which are generally a joy to use.
A few niggles: Eurostar does not have trolley carts readily available at the arrival door. Arriving on one's own, as I've done on a few occasions, as has my partner, means running past the Eurostar check-in desk, hooking a right, running up to the mainline train station, hoping that there's a stumpy little cart there, and having, I think, a £1 coin to unlock the thing. This has not been well thought out. For example, supermarkets have very clever technology that limits their carts from being taken off premises. With some minor retuning, Eurostar could do exactly the same to enable its customers to have a stress-free experience.
Now, the background is that, with Brexit, there are more security checks, and Eurostar is simply unable to process the number of people that fill a train. That said, the station itself is not fit for purpose. Its waiting areas are cramped. There is often insufficient seating, and people are jammed together. It's disappointing, in the days of digital nomads and people charging phones and computers and all sorts of electronic devices, that there are only a few ledges where people can plug in to work. The whole experience feels more like a bustling, shoving commuter rail than an international high-speed train journey.
The insult to injury comes with whatever they call it, business class. You get a larger seat, you get food at a meal, but you're corralled in with the hoi polloi. This is only relieved when you go for the top-tier service, which is called Business First or Business Elite. We forget, where they have a very spacious lounge with tea and coffee, an assortment of drinks, which is far more impressive. The downside is that the cost is near extortionate.
Boarding the trains is a bit of a free-for-all, understandable, though, when you have 16 trains, 16 cars, and a train capable of carrying somewhere around 800 passengers. The staff, which are usually French, Belgian, and Dutch, deserve particular mention. The ground staff and the staff on the train are rude, grumpy, surly, and seem utterly indifferent to the needs of travelers.
The service itself: great. The location: great. The amenities are lacking. Wall plugs are lacking. Train: piss-poor.
SOLID PERFORMANCE & EUROSTAR NEEDS TO DO BETTER
