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If you are in the ‘wrong X-ray line’ for a big bag, the staff just usher you into the correct line. Nobody was fazed.
The shorter bag length on Eurostar is because Eurostar trains are narrower than TGVs. Longer bags would protrude into the corridor, restricting the exit in an emergency. Simple really.
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So it was always 85 cm, even in the good old days?
Train width makes sense. Obviously normal UK trains are narrower than continental ones but I hadn't realised that Eurostar was narrower too. I guess they had to start off on the Kent commuter tracks and that defined what they could do!
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A company aiming to operate services through the Channel Tunnel in competition with Eurostar has agreed to purchase 12 trains, it said.
Evolyn said £1 billion is being invested in its bid to start cross-Channel rail services in 2025.
The company said it is led by the Spanish Cosmen family – an investor in coach and train company Mobico, formerly known as National Express – and is backed by “important British and French industrial and financial partners”.
It said it has reached an agreement to acquire 12 trains from French manufacturer Alstom, with an “option to scale up to 16”.
We know that the governments of the United Kingdom and France welcome a project that will allow their citizens to increase the connection options between the UK and several countries in continental Europe
Jorge Cosmen, Evolyn chief executiveEvolyn chief executive Jorge Cosmen said: “The acquisition of 12 high-speed, state-of-the-art trains, to be expanded to a minimum of 16 according to our forecasts, is the definitive step in the materialisation of Evolyn, a high-speed rail operator that has been under development for three years and that today marks a very important milestone.
“We know that the governments of the United Kingdom and France welcome a project that will allow their citizens to increase the connection options between the UK and several countries in continental Europe with a green alternative that will also contribute to decarbonisation.”
Eurostar is the only company that has run passenger trains since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994.
Other proposed rival operators have been unable to overcome regulatory hurdles.
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shorter bag length on Eurostar is because Eurostar trains are narrower than TGVs
I realise I'm being a bit of an anorak at this point, but it looks like this isn't the case any more:
Original Eurostars were 2.81m vs 2.9m for older TGV and 2.82 for ICE.
Second generation Eurostars now in service are 2.9m. Newer TGVs are 2.95 and newer ICE4 are 2.9So basically Eurostar is now about the same width, and wider than the TGVs were when they had much more generous limits
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I used the larger one on my trip to Japan, it just about covered my 54cm cdf with front and rear racks with the fork on.
Highly recommend removing the pedals if you're going to carry it any distance
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This is what seat 61 says - basically you should be OK up to 1m unless you're unlucky:
Items over 85cm: In theory there's a maximum size limit of 85cm in any one dimension. Which is odd, as there's no such limit on any other British or French train, and there's no real logic to it as far as I can see, as long as items fit through the X-ray scanners at check-in. If you call Eurostar, staff may repeat the official 85cm limit and say you should use Eurostar's baggage service, but this is useless for anyone continuing beyond Paris, Brussels or London as items are only be available for collection with 24 hours of your Eurostar's arrival. But in reality nobody measures your bags at check-in, and in practice people take guitars, 1 metre long tubes with rolled-up plans or posters inside, and other items that are a little over 85cm onto Eurostar, as they do on any train. I can't 101% guarantee you'll never meet a jobsworth at check-in of course, but in 15 years of running this site I yet to hear of anyone having any problem. In practice Eurostar is generally relaxed as long as you don't take the P.
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You gonna timelapse shoot packing it?
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Ffs just booked a couple of trains and then emailed to book bikes on. Suddenly there are loads more time restrictions on which trains you can travel which aren’t on the web page about travelling with bikes
Has anyone had recent experience about how strict they are on the ‘drop your bike off 90mins before departure time’ bit? Coming from a connecting train, so that seems unlikely to work with what I’ve booked currently
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it's always been the case that latecomers would jump the queue. In fact, since they started bumping prices after covid and effective brexit + charge 50£ for ticket swap, they are more eager to put those on a later train.
in other news, i crammed a full bike in a 80x85cm box the other day and went in without excess luggage charge. so as long as your luggage fits in the extra scanner you're good, even if the contents are on the list of excess luggage ( bikes, instruments, etc. )
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Bikes on Eurostar?
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For the record, everything I am hearing and reading says that a bagged bike up to 120 x 90 is fine for TGVs - so both wheels out but fork is fine. No need to take out pedals or turn bars. There is even an-SNCF endorsed bag that is that size.
Germany is a bit less clear: there are no size guidelines and some reports contradict this, but my friend in Frankfurt who travels regularly with bike on German trains reckons that fork in would be fine on ICEs too. He said they are more concerned about how it fits on the train than size - so get it thin (exact opposite of Eurostar - groan) and take a bungee to stop it flopping.
On TrenItalia the limit is 110 x 80
For Spanish trains, 120 x 90 x 40
Again, probably don't need to turn (drop) bars, take out pedals