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With the recent fusion of Thalys into Eurostar, Eurostar will now also serve routes into Germany. As the travel from the Schengen area to GB requires passport checks all current Eurostar stations are equipped with security checks before access to the station.

If Eurostar were to extend their direct connection to London further than Bruxelles, say Liège, Aachen or Köln, they would somehow need to build further security checks at these stations or perhaps change their operations to conduct passport checks onboard the train or only in London. What are the chances that Eurostar will do so?

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    @YPOC in general there are no passport checks, but you still need to legally be allowed to enter - presence in one country doesn't automatically give you that right. In addition there are sometimes passport checks imposed on certain methods of entry; I think they consistently check passports when flying from the UK to Dublin Airport, but for instance if you flew to Belfast and then crossed the border by rail you'd have no checks, and equally if you crossed by ferry from Holyhead to Dublin I believe there are also no checks.
    – Muzer
    Jul 19 at 11:52
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    @YPOC not if you are a citizen of the UK or of Ireland (and if challenged on that you can prove your citizenship by any means).
    – phoog
    Jul 19 at 11:58
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    @Muzer if I understand correctly, any airline that requires passports of UK or Irish citizens flying between the two countries (if there is any such airline) does so as a matter of company policy concerning identification, not as a requirement of immigration law. For example, BA says "if you are a citizen of the UK or Republic of Ireland who was born in that country you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries but you do require some form of photographic identification, such as a driving licence."
    – phoog
    Jul 19 at 12:00
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    DB tried to start the route back when the UK was an EU member, they never did
    – Nicolas Formichella
    Jul 19 at 12:39
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    it's not really critical, as you can already buy combined tickets from London to Germany, typically with a simple change in Bruxelles Midi) (i.e. with guaranteed connections)
    – njzk2
    Jul 19 at 12:59

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Very very low. In terms of its route network to the UK, Eurostar has, since Brexit, been cutting it back rather than expanding it. This is because there is currently simply not enough capacity at St Pancras station for the new border checks, and they are having to leave some of their trains partially empty as there is no way to get all the people through passport control in time. This situation is expected to get worse before it gets better, as EES, the new Entry/Exit System for Schengen (which is to be introduced coinciding with ETIAS), will require collection of fingerprints, which the EU does not currently have on file for UK citizens.

As a result of all this, Eurostar have abandoned the two Kent stations and Calais, along with routes to the South of France, Disneyland, and the Alps. In addition, due to a situation beyond their control they are highly likely to have to temporarily abandon their route to Amsterdam as well. Until this situation at St Pancras can be resolved, the chances of Eurostar expanding its route network are slim.

However, in one very technically correct sense, Eurostar actually are expanding to Germany. This is because they have recently merged with Thalys, a company which runs international high-speed trains within Western Europe. Thalys will soon (from October) be rebranded Eurostar. You can expect to then be able to purchase through tickets from London to Germany, but it will still require a physical change of trains. Given the existence of Railteam (an agreement between high speed rail operators in Western Europe) guaranteeing onward connections with their "HOTNAT" (Hop On The Next Available Train) system in the case of delays by other operators, this through ticketing isn't actually as important as you might first expect. But you can perhaps expect a discount over the current cost of buying two tickets separately.

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    "which the EU does not currently have on file for UK citizens": nor for anyone else who will be covered by ETIAS.
    – phoog
    Jul 19 at 11:24
  • What I don't quite understand is what has got more difficult. The UK was never part of Schengen and there was always passport control for the Eurostar. Why is it taking so much longer now?
    – neil
    Jul 20 at 0:37
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    @neil The checks are more thorough now. Many years ago, my passport would get a cursory check on the train. Today, it is more like an airport.
    – badjohn
    Jul 20 at 5:45
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    @neil yeah, as badjohn said, the checks for non-EU countries are much more thorough. For an EU country they only need to check you have an EU passport - which the vast majority of passengers on Eurostar do. I remember multiple times just being waved through once they'd seen my face clearly matches the face on the passport. For a third country they need to check your passport more thoroughly, often including previous stamps, and then make another entry/exit stamp. This just takes much longer.
    – Muzer
    Jul 20 at 9:16
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    @Muzer Schengen border officials are really lax with Brits from what I've observed, not least in France; quick scan followed by a stamp. 10-15 seconds.
    – Crazydre
    Aug 9 at 12:35

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