Eurotrain Begins Early Check-ins by 30 Minutes at St Pancras Station to Address Crowd Control Issues
St Pancras International, the iconic Victorian-era station in London, is set to undergo a series of expansions to accommodate the increasing number of Eurostar passengers and improve the overall customer experience.
The three-pronged approach to this expansion involves a phased plan designed to optimise and progressively enlarge the station's ability to handle international travelers.
In the short term, efforts will be focused on optimising security and passenger flow processes within the current station footprint. This includes the implementation of the European Union's new Entry/Exit System (EES) technology and scanning equipment, strategically placed throughout the station to prevent logjams.
In the medium term, the station's capacity is expected to nearly double, increasing throughput from the current 2,000 travelers per hour to nearly 5,000 in the coming years. This expansion will be achieved through extensive works, such as doubling the size of the UK-EU border area within the station.
Long-term plans involve further significant expansions to support longer-term demand growth and service enhancements. However, specifics of this phase have not been detailed yet.
The expansion plans are supported by collaboration between Eurostar and London St Pancras Highspeed. The goal is to more than double the station's throughput, from the current 1,800 people an hour to up to 5,000 an hour.
Simon Lejeune, chief safety and station officer at Eurostar, has stated that the company is reducing check-in times, allowing passengers to arrive later and board trains earlier. In addition, passengers are now allowed to board their trains 30 minutes early.
The initial design and feasibility study for these expansions has been commissioned to architecture firm Hawkins\Brown, with the first stage due for completion in 2025.
Since the beginning of the year, over 100,000 extra travellers have used Eurostar, with the average occupancy rates exceeding 81%. In two of its busiest weeks this year, Eurostar handled 136,000 voyagers.
To further streamline passenger movement, experts have suggested moving the arrivals area to the upstairs level at St Pancras International. This would prevent international passengers from being funnelled downstairs immediately upon arrival. Instead, arriving passengers would be able to exit the station from the level of the platform they step off at.
The £800-million (€927-million) refurbishment of St Pancras International, completed in 2007, transformed the station into an international terminus. The refurbishment included the installation of kiosks for the EU's new EES, which will be spread around St Pancras International to facilitate smoother passenger flow.
Despite its refurbishment, St Pancras International, with its limited capacity, still struggles to handle the increasing volume of passengers. However, with these planned expansions, the station is set to triple its capacity by 2040, making international travel more accessible and efficient for millions of passengers.
[1] Eurostar Press Release, 2023. [2] London St Pancras Highspeed, 2023. [3] Hawkins\Brown, 2023. [4] European Commission, 2023.
- The expansion plans for St Pancras International aim to triple its current capacity by 2040, making it more accessible and efficient for millions of travelers.
- The phased expansion will not only focus on optimizing security and passenger flow processes but also involves doubling the size of the UK-EU border area to increase the station's capacity to nearly 5,000 travelers per hour.
- In the automotive and public-transit sectors, collaboration between Eurostar and London St Pancras Highspeed will likely impact transportation options for visitors, considering their goal is to more than double the station's throughput.
- The ongoing expansion of St Pancras International falls under the eco-conscious travel industry, as the new European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES) technology has been implemented to streamline and green processes while improving overall customer experience.
