Eurostar - How important is it to get there at the arrival time they state?

[Hamilson]

I've booked a 9am train out of St Pancras, which seemed quite civilised at the time, but when I've counted backwards from their arrival time (7:45), added travel time from home plus a bit for things to go wrong, it means leaving home at 5:30am.

What happens if I don't arrive until 8:30?

Definitely not ‘bedlam’ (Gare de Nord is bedlam!), but the queues are long and passport checking takes time. I would get there for 7.45, you can chill on the train. 8.30 is way too late for a 9am train. FYI, from when we travelled in July, they won’t let you join the queue before the stated time, so no point in getting there earlier…

I use Eurostar frequently. Sometimes you’re through in five minutes, other times there are enormous queues and it can take an hour. If you’re late they will let you jump the first queue but you can still wait ages to get through security and border control.

There are different queues for the different trains so not as chaotic as it first appears. They're pretty keen to get you on your booked train so will get you through if you speak up (if you were late). We once had 5 minutes to spare before departure in Brussels because of a delayed connection. They greeted us by name and shoved us on!

St Pancras needs more space but that's not happening any time soon.

Right, so the gates close 30 minutes before departure. So you have to be scanning your ticket on the gate by 8.30 at the latest. Security, passport control etc happen after the gates. At St Pancras- and NOT NECESSARILY other Eurostar terminals- they have a very efficient team ushering latecomers through the (long but rapidly moving) line to the gates.The departure lounge at St Pancras is nearly always horribly overcrowded, and the earlier you arrive the longer you spend sitting on the floor. Make of this information what you will- I would personally aim for an hour before departure, but I've travelled with Eurostar many times before.

I applied this logic to Amsterdam yesterday, and ended up frighteningly close to the back of a long, long line, and they ended up checking us in with mobile scanners while we were standing in line. Some people came running up after the end of check in, and after much pleading and the intercession of already checked- in passengers they were allowed to check in, which surprised me.

The delay was awful, apparently down to the new Euro security checks, but all they did was fingerprint us at the passport booths, which took literally a second, and was the same as they did at St Pancras on the way out with no delays whatsoever with a far bigger footfall 🙄

I’m quite liberal with timings on Eurostar but since EES and even with priority, it takes an age to go through. I wouldn’t risk a normal ticket and arriving at 08:30 as you’ll miss the train, and likely the following train. Not sure if you’d be rebooked.

We missed our train once - I was gutted as I’m a ‘get to the airport at least two hours pre-flight’ person. To be fair I was having a very busy time and just didn’t read the instructions properly.

Get there at the allotted time.

Gare du Nord is indeed bedlam, and there's no point in arriving early in an attempt to beat the queues, they won't let you check in early. I don't understand how they manage to make it so chaotic, but at least there are enough seats for everyone in the departure lounge and it has some natural light.

I think St Pancras is worse than Gare du Nord! When they announce the platform, there is just no process for people getting there, and you can be trying to get out of the seating area into a sea of people, mostly with big suitcases, for bloody ages. It's basically a junction with no traffic lights. I would not risk winging it with the time, even though you'll probably end up sitting (or more likely standing) around a fair bit.

Travelled on Tuesday . They opened check in a bit early . Security took quite a while and the lounges were packed until the previous train left . The journey is far more relaxing than flying particularly if you upgrade .

Yes, very similar. When I travelled (May this year), I also got an email 24 hours before asking for 1hr's earlier arrival than previously published, as they knew the staffing levels and expected passenger numbers were likely to mean longer check-in processes. I don't know if this happens often, but it underlines that they are not putting unrealistic timings on their pre-departure advice.

We went two weeks ago, peak times and it was bedlam. That said, we arrived with two hours to spare before departure as we were coming in from the north but didn’t need all that time. An hour to 90 mins should be enough.

I’ve done Eurostar many times and the most time it’s ever taken to get through the gates and security is 20 minutes, even at peak times.

They will also call you forward from the queue if you are cutting it fine for your train, although this can’t be guaranteed.

I’d get there at 8.15 but no later.

An hour is normally sufficient but queues are often long for the morning trains because people are going for business day trips basically, but the up side is they tend to be organised and know how to get through immigration, by 11am it’s leisure travellers with a different set of issues … people who don’t travel regularly, kids, mobility issues etc. staff are good but each person takes longer to process than the frequent travellers

Sounds awful, and I was thinking of trying it next time I'm anywhere near London. Not so sure now, but look - every mode has queues, stress, bags, immigration controls and so on. But I just love trains!

Silly question for those who know... do the trains go direct to places like Lille, Brussels and Amsterdam or are changes needed. Sorry for the dumb ask.

Honestly it can be mad in the station with 100m of queue to even go through the gate. You used to be fine to arrive 30 min before the train left but I would really not want to risk it now. I’ve been taking the Eurostar say 10 times a year for about 15 years - it is the worst I have ever seen.

So many different experiences! I find St Pancras efficient and organised while Gare du Nord is absolute hell. Both are hugely busy.

They go direct to Paris, Amsterdam or Brussels.

It certainly was when we went at the beginning of June. Would now choose Eurostar for over an airport. Admittedly we did get there extra early (2:30) for the 4 o’clock train as we weren’t sure about how long it would take to get through. We were then offered an earlier train 3:30). We just then walked though with no queue and security was really quick, about 10 mins at most. Pretty much tge same on tge way back. Totally hassle free. Having said all that no way would I turn up at 08:30 for a 9 o’clock train. I would definitely leave at least an hour. As you can see from replies different people have different experiences.

It really varies. I've had an absolute nightmare with the new fingerprint system not registering my fingerprints on occasion and queues can build up whenever it is glitchy. This won't apply to you if you have an EU passport. French border control are doing this at St P now.

Yes, there are I think 4 direct trains to Amsterdam every day, which also stop at Lille, Brussels and Rotterdam, plus more trains than that to Brussels and Lille. It is much more chaotic and airport like since Brexit sadly, but I think still not as bad as airports, and of course you can just walk straight out at the other end, and in Paris- and even more so Amsterdam- that's right out into the heart of the city.

To be fair, I think we are all emphasizing that it's not just like hopping on a train because we don't want OP to miss it, and it can undeniably be a little congested and take a while to get through passports and so on - but I'd still choose it over flying (or, specifically, airports, and sitting around trapped on the place on the tarmac because the pilot is waiting for a gap, or being ferried about on tiny buses from the gate, etc etc) any day, and it's really not awful.

Thanks for info about the direct stops!

I was thinking (that's dangerous ha ha), that if I went midweek outside school hols would that be any less frenzied? I suppose it's busy all the time, but there might be a window somewhere that might be less popular than say weekends or holiday times.

If I had a 9am train I’d get there at 7.
You have the new EES as the French border is at the station.
I’ve never left it less than 2 hours and have travelled on it quite a few times.

Admittedly they weren't doing fingerprints when I went from St Pancras in April, but the one really stressful experience I've had (coming back from Brussels) was still less bad than flying.

I'm going to Germany by train next month and I can't wait.

They have dynamic pricing. The cheapest price shows on the calendar once you select the route, so the cheaper times should be the quieter ones. Bear in mind that people do use the Eurostar to go to business meetings for the day.