Now, I don’t want to speak too soon, but it seems as though summer may actually grace the capital with its presence at some point after all. But when it inevitably disappears again, we’re going to want (no, need) some weekends away in the diary to cheer us up, right? So, if you are thinking a bit further ahead and have started planning your trips for later in the year, you may want to listen up.
A new entry/exit system (EES) is soon to be put in place for non-EU passport holders when boarding a Eurostar train at St Pancras International. Work has begun on installing 49 brand new kiosks at the central London station to facilitate the new process which will involve travellers having their fingerprints and photo taken prior to boarding.
The preparation and installation of the new requirements has come with a rather hefty price-tag, though, supposedly costing Eurostar over £10 million. These new entry/exit systems will be officially launched on October 6, after being pushed back from May, 2023 due to IT issues. This new system will mean that first-time passengers hopping on the Eurostar from St Pancras International will need to arrive at the station around two hours prior to their departure, in order to complete an initial registration process. After this, passengers can arrive as normal in the 90-minute window, and may even save time due to the automated check over the passport stamping process.
The new checks will require travellers to have their photo and fingerprints taken on their first visit to the EU after October 6. These will then be kept on file for three years and one of the identifiers will be verified on each subsequent visit to the EU.
Eurostar passengers will use the new kiosks that’ll be found near the main ground floor entrance at St Pancras. There will also be an overflow area on the mezzanine level and dedicated check-in areas for business and disabled travellers.
The new system is expected to cause some rather significant delays when it first comes into play. Because of this, French ministers reportedly did not want the new system in place during this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. Eurostar, however, have added that there are not anticipated to be any delays to service, with the government installing a “progression plan” over six months to ensure the avoidance of long queues.
A spokesperson for Eurostar said: “Our aim is to minimise the impact on our customers to ensure the smoothest possible travel experience and the detailed work required to achieve this has been under way for some time.”