eurostar

[Arch]

I think we have to be fair. The service has been running for 15 years in all weathers without this problem, then five failed trains in one day. That has to tell us conditions that day were exceedingly rare.

So on average that's a breakdown once every three years? Not bad.

I heard more people complaining this morning, because no one at Eurostar could tell them when trains would be running again. It didn't seem to occur to these people that the poeple they were asking could have no idea either. When something goes this wrong, you're very unlikely to be able to fix it just like that...

I feel sorry for Wigsie's cousin too!

 

[Wigsie]

I must confess, have been disenchanted with the whole Eurostar/TGV setup for some time now. For all the numerous trips to France we've been going on these past few years, we only took the Eurostar once - and I reckon I've been through the Tunnel just twice, each way, since its inception.

Reasons: silly prices, slow journey (and they call this Train a Grand Vitesse??), frequent delays, awkward arrival times, innumerable stops (especially that tedious one at dreary Mickey-Mouse Station, on the Lille-Bordeaux leg...), poor facilities ... Need I go on?

So that's my green credentials blown sky-high, I'm afraid.

Mind you, this famous predecessor would have got through, no trouble! They don't build 'em like the magnificent Bulleid Pacifics!

Have used the Eurotunnel loads for business and found it to be awesome! far quicker than flying for meetings across Germany (although it helps living 10 minutes from the terminal).

So on average that's a breakdown once every three years? Not bad.

I heard more people complaining this morning, because no one at Eurostar could tell them when trains would be running again. It didn't seem to occur to these people that the poeple they were asking could have no idea either. When something goes this wrong, you're very unlikely to be able to fix it just like that...

I feel sorry for Wigsie's cousin too!

Thanks Arch... don't feel too sorry, she is a bit stuck up her own arse!

 

[hackbike 666]

SWT has been bad today.

I was told the idea was to wait till later in the day for when the ice had melted away from the juice rail and then send a train down to Reading.Unfortunately when they sent the train down the ice hadn't melted from the live rail and the train failed.Allegedly.

It's just been a mess for two days.Crews displaced all over the place.

I can understand how it went wrong with Eurostar.

 

[CopperBrompton]

For all the numerous trips to France we've been going on these past few years, we only took the Eurostar once - and I reckon I've been through the Tunnel just twice, each way, since its inception.

Reasons: silly prices, slow journey (and they call this Train a Grand Vitesse??), frequent delays, awkward arrival times, innumerable stops (especially that tedious one at dreary Mickey-Mouse Station, on the Lille-Bordeaux leg...), poor facilities ... Need I go on?

All this based on using it twice?

I have used Eurostar I guess on average once a month for many years, and once a week for several months. I can recall only one problem in that time. Compared to flying to Paris, it's a joy, especially since the UK HS line opened.

 

[661-Pete]

All this based on using it twice?

Yes, precisely. I don't pretend to claim the moral high ground here.

As far as the high prices are concerned, and the difficulty of getting advance tickets on the days I want them, at the price I'm prepared to pay, well I can find all that out without actually travelling on the thing, can't I?

I used to be a train buff, but the enthusiasm is waning fast...

 

[CopperBrompton]

I'm no train buff, but love getting on at St Pancras 10-15 mins before the train leaves, and getting off at GdN 2h 20m later having been able to use my laptop the whole way there. It's just so much more civilised than flying there.

 

[wafflycat]

All this based on using it twice?

I have used Eurostar I guess on average once a month for many years, and once a week for several months. I can recall only one problem in that time. Compared to flying to Paris, it's a joy, especially since the UK HS line opened.

For quite a few years now, if Family Wafflycat have wanted to venture to FornParts on mainland Europe, we've used the Channel Tunnel. Mostly the car service, but MrWC & I used Eurostar for a long weekend in Paris. Using the Tunnel is my preferred route to cross the Channel. Quick, clean and with a bit of advance booking it's been cheaper than the ferry. Mind you, I really, really, really, do not fancy being stuck underground for hours on end with the alleged lack of communication, no water, no food and no toilets that seemed to be the order of the day in this breakdown. Putting up with the hardship in the Underground when your houses are being bombed as per the London Blitz is one thing. Putting up with it because of a broken train and feeling as if you're being left for hours as has been described by people coming off Eurostar is quite another.

 

[rich p]

My mate is stuck in Brussels after a long weekend got a bit longer than planned. I texted him to ask if he was okay and to ask where was and he replied, everything's cushty and I'm sitting in a bar drinking Chimay! Could be worse.

 

[topcat1]

Well i have an update, tc2 has just rang. He spent the weekend in a hotel in mayfair (he's a manager there) returned home monday but has just reached france on the eurostar.

 

[Arch]

I heard a classic day before yesterday. Woman on the news saying they'd gone for an overnight in Paris, and now were stranded in France, with no money and no credit cards. Whinge, whinge....

You went for an overnight stay, abroad, with no spare cash or plastic? In fact, you went anywhere, without access to contingency money?

I hear that Eurostar have now cleared the backlog - that's superb work!

 

[TheDoctor]

I must confess, have been disenchanted with the whole Eurostar/TGV setup for some time now. For all the numerous trips to France we've been going on these past few years, we only took the Eurostar once - and I reckon I've been through the Tunnel just twice, each way, since its inception.

Reasons: silly prices, slow journey (and they call this Train a Grand Vitesse??), frequent delays, awkward arrival times, innumerable stops (especially that tedious one at dreary Mickey-Mouse Station, on the Lille-Bordeaux leg...), poor facilities ... Need I go on?

So that's my green credentials blown sky-high, I'm afraid.

Mind you, this famous predecessor would have got through, no trouble! They don't build 'em like the magnificent Bulleid Pacifics!

Only just seen this, and I must offer some sort of rebuttal.

Silly prices? - £59 return to Paris, city centre to city centre. The same price gets you anywhere in Belgium.
Frequent delays? I was once delayed by as much as 45 minutes. Oh, the humanity!!
Awkward arrival times? There's one to Paris every hour or so...
And as for slow journey times - Nice or Marseilles to Stevenage the same day? Bit of a long day, granted, but I'd have hated to have tried those trips by driving. Or the time we used it coming back from the Alps - skiing till lunchtime, tucked up in my own bed that evening.

 

[ArDee]

I'm no train buff, but love getting on at St Pancras 10-15 mins before the train leaves, and getting off at GdN 2h 20m later having been able to use my laptop the whole way there. It's just so much more civilised than flying there.

I, like many others on this thread, use Eurostar regularly; personally I've had no troubles with delays, etc. and considering the number of delays I've had flying with weather 1 day in 15 years is pretty good going.

The only way they could make it better would be to introduce free WiFi on the trains as on most UK trains now; instead of the 20mins SFR card that you have to ask for at the check in desk. 20 minutes is next to useless when trying to get work done.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I'm mostly doing work that doesn't require net access, but I can use my phone as a 3G dongle if I need it (free on the UK side, as I have an unlimited data plan, and a tenner on the French side).

 

[hackbike 666]

The only way they could make it better would be to introduce free WiFi on the trains as on most UK trains now; instead of the 20mins SFR card that you have to ask for at the check in desk. 20 minutes is next to useless when trying to get work done.

They have free Wi-Fi on trains?

First I have heard of it.

 

[CopperBrompton]

They have it on GNER, but it's rubbish - it would be quicker to pay some schoolkids to draw the webpages you want than to wait for them to load on that link.