London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Eurostar cancels services as Brexit border checks cut capacity by 30%

Eurostar cancels services as Brexit border checks cut capacity by 30%

Border checks for British travelers introduced after Brexit have caused Eurostar’s peak capacity to drop by 30 percent.
The rail operator is also facing “unique” financial pressures in the aftermath of the pandemic, having been hit hard by travel restrictions. It also says it is dealing with a shortage of engineers.

MP Huw Merriman, chair of the UK’s transport select committee, recently wrote to Eurostar enquiring about the closure of Ebbsfleet and Ashford international stations in Kent and the end of the company’s Disneyland Paris service.

This week he released the responses from outgoing Eurostar chief Jacques Damas, detailing the issues the company was facing.

“Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, additional border checks apply to UK citizens seeking to enter Schengen,” Damas wrote.

Since roughly 40 percent of Eurostar’s customers are British, this has caused a “significant increase in the processing times at these stations.”

Stamping passports adds at least 15 seconds to each passenger’s border crossing time, Damas explained in the letter. While that may not seem like a lot, with millions of people boarding the service every year, it adds up.

On top of that, it makes electronic passport gates less effective as they don’t accept British passports in most EU countries.

In London and Paris, Eurostar said it is trying to remedy the problem. Space is extremely restricted at St Pancras Station but another passport control booth is currently being installed. French passport gates have been upgraded and, in Paris, more UK gates are being added.

But still, peak capacity through the stations is now around 30 percent lower than it was before Brexit, the Eurostar chief said. “Even with all booths manned, St Pancras can currently process a maximum 1,500 passengers per hour vs. 2,200 in 2019.”

He goes on to add that the restricted timetables and limited capacity trains that have been running post-Brexit are the only way that the company can avoid daily queues in the center of London. Damas compared the situation to the long lines seen at ferry ports after Brexit.

It means that Eurostar is unable to respond to the “high demand” for services linking capital cities. Reopening the Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations in Kent would put too high of a strain on local police resources.

The EU is looking to introduce its Entry/Exit System (EES) by the end of May 2023. This large-scale IT system will see third-country nationals — non-EU, EEA or Swiss citizens — automatically monitored at border crossings.

The aim is for this to replace passport stamps at border crossing points into the Schengen area like airports and seaports. Damas wrote that the uncertainty regarding the EES “hangs over” Eurostar.

He also listed other concerns around the current economic climate in the UK and EU. People are working from home more, cutting the number of commuters using the service. While the energy crisis means costs are going up putting both passengers and the company under pressure.

Merriman posted the responses on Twitter, saying that the UK’s transport select committee will write to the “new Minister and Rail Regulator” sharing these “observations and interventions to support Eurostar; a vital cog in our transport system.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
×