Eurostar to cut boarding time as station boss pledges ‘really quick process’

Eurostar bosses plan to cut boarding times by 30 minutes as St Pancras comes “too close to the airport experience”.

Passengers will be able to bypass departure halls to immediately board Eurostar trains under the proposed changes.

Travellers are currently advised to check in at London St Pancras International 45 to 75 minutes before their scheduled departure time.

Wendy Spinks, chief commercial officer at London St Pancras Highspeed, told The Telegraph: “It cannot be the equivalent of an airport departure lounge. We see it as a really quick process. Going straight to the train is part of the plan.

“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.”

St Pancras Highspeed owns the HS1 line to the Channel Tunnel.

The move aims to ease pressure on St Pancras as alternative rail companies, including Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains and Italian firm Trenitalia, launch routes through the Channel Tunnel by 2030.

According to The Telegraph, the wait time changes will be introduced in line with the remodelling of St Pancras.

Ms Spinks added that overcrowding at the station has worsened with the expansion of security and border processing.

She said: “There is a mismatch between what the route can handle and what the station can handle.”

The £100m St Pancras renovation will expand the station’s queuing area into the arrivals hall adjoining the departures area.

Operational capacity at the rail hub in 2024 was 1,800 travellers per hour; this has already grown to 2,000 per hour, with nearly 5,000 per hour predicted by the end of 2028, said St Pancras Highspeed.

Company research found that passenger demand is set to triple by 2040, increasing from 11 million to 35 million passengers per year.

The Independent has contacted St Pancras Highspeed and Eurostar for comment.

Read more: Eurostar to launch direct trains from UK to Germany and Switzerland