A major revamp of the Eurostar departure area at London St Pancras is set to be a game-changer for rail travellers heading to Europe.
Among the planned changes, a new queuing system will be introduced to speed up the security and boarding processes — meaning passengers could turn up for their trains just 15 minutes before it’s due to leave.
Currently, the small departure zone within the major train station doesn’t exactly offer the best experience for travellers.
Adrian Quine, the chief exec of Gemini Trains, a start-up rail operator — and Eurostar competitor — summed it best, describing it as an ‘underbelly’, adding: ‘It’s dingy, it’s crowded.’
But now, the station owner plans to spend up to £100,000,000 on transforming the area.
In particular, London St Pancras Highspeed — the company that operates the station and the line that connects to the Channel Tunnel — want to change the queuing process, so passengers don’t feel like they’re in a ‘holding pen’.
Robert Sinclair, chief executive of London St Pancras Highspeed said: ‘At the moment, Eurostar asks customers to turn up 60 minutes before departure, sometimes an hour and a half. We both agree that the opportunity is to reduce that down to 15 minutes. We want it to be a “turn up and go” service.’
According to Sinclair, who spoke to the Financial Times, this would be achieved by turning the current queue lines sideways, so that people queued out into the empty Eurostar arrivals hall.f
‘A bad outcome at London City is 10 minutes. If we offer that same level of consistency, then people over time will begin to rely on it.’
Sinclair said he hopes to finish the transformation within four years — the same time that Virgin aims to offer cross-Channel services to passengers.
But now, the regulatory green signal puts Virgin on course to introduce cross-Channel services from London St Pancras to Europe within the next five years.
Speaking on the decision at the time, Sir Richard Branson, said: ‘The ORR’s decision is the right one for consumers – it’s time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route.
