A CHANGE to how you board the Eurostar is about to make it much easier to head over to Europe.
The international train operator has said they will cut boarding times by 30 minutes in an attempt to ease crowding at St Pancras station.
Currently, Eurostar passengers must check in an hour before boarding their train, where they they have to wait in departures.
According to The Telegraph, there are plans to allow passengers to board Eurostar trains as soon as they arrive at the station.
This would mean that passengers would be able to board up to half an hour before their train departs.
The hope is that this will allow people to arrive at St Pancras much closer to the time that their train is due to leave, as well as ease crowds.
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Wendy Spinks, chief commercial officer at London St Pancras High Speed, said that the process of boarding Eurostar had become too much like flying, when in reality it should be easier than an airport.
She added: “It has become too close to the airport experience, where you check in, go to security, wait in the lounge and then rush to the gate.
“You will always want some people to turn up a bit earlier so that you can process them and get them on board but at least 50 per cent of passengers should go straight to the train.”
Not only should train travel be less stressful, but it also allows passengers to go directly into the city centre, rather than an airport further out.
But she warned: “The more you go beyond two hours and start getting out to Germany or Geneva, say, then your time differential is harder against flying. If we shrink the time that you hang around in the station it cuts the end-to-end journey.”
The changes come amid the major renovation of St Pancras, ahead of the launch of new travel rivals Richard Branson‘s Virgin Trains and Trenitalia of Italy by 2030.
Ms Spinks also warned that the busy departures area is preventing any further growth of Eurostar, especially ahead of the new kiosks ahead of the new EU Entry/Exit System.
The St Pancras renovation – which is expected to cost around £100million – will hopefully free up space and could even cut waiting times to just 15 minutes.
Not only that, but a new ground floor layout would double the station’s current capacity to 5,000 passengers an hour.
The full renovation is set to be complete by the 2030s, which is also when the new additions of destinations such as Germany and Switzerland could be rolled out.
In other train news, UK’s busiest train station with 100million passengers finally gets go ahead for controversial £1.2billion expansion.
Plus, major UK train station shuts for nine days for ‘once in generation’ overhaul worth £8million.
