I only travel by this means because my husband loves trains. I'd rather fly if given the choice... read more
I only travel by this means because my husband loves trains. I'd rather fly if given the choice... read more
I have been a few times on the Eurostar and it’s a wonderful fast way to travel. This time we... read more
回想當年,得知英法隧道開通時,各國的新聞爭相報導,因這是一個政治上、工程上及交通運輸上的一個大壯舉。求學時,一直想去體驗一下《歐洲之星》火車去巴黎,但始終,我住在英國西北部的 Manchester,去巴黎,始終都是飛機最方便。直至 2009年,那一次先到倫敦的朋友家借宿,而我又一早遇到《Eurostar》的優惠,於是就體驗了一次《歐洲之星》之旅,來回比利時的布魯塞爾。2018年,同太太遊完巴黎,為了陪太太體驗《Eurostar》,我們又踏上多一次這一個跨越英、法、比三國的國際列車了。
順序說,2009年的一次。那天,一清早就要到達 S. Pancras, 乘搭早上 5:53 的班車,直接前往布魯塞爾南站 (Bruxelles Midi/Brussels Zuid)。我從朋友位於 Old Street 的家出發,幸好有晨咁早既巴士,不然,我再要提早半小時出發啊。
當年,仍未與用電子車票,我要提早去到火車站,就是要去取票機拿實體的車票。如今,在網上訂了票的話,打印有 QR Code 的那一頁就可以掃碼入閘了。不過,今時今日,仍然是要提早到站的,因為多了安檢同一地兩檢的清關程序。
《Eurostar》,是高鐵的設定。在英國路段屬於少有的國際列車,所以有專用的鐵道路段。2009 年仍未有煩厭的安檢程序。驗了票就可以直接進入月台,乘務員就會招呼你都正確的車卡,車門登車。
座位是夠闊的,leg room 也很好。但成個車箱給人既感覺就好狹窄。不過,坐在座位上,其空間感是足夠的。總之,夠舒適。
在英國的路段,車速不快,因為某些路段是與本地的火車共用的 (當年)。現在,就有了由 Dover 直達 St. Pancras 的專用鐵路,省下了不少的時間。
過了英法隧道,車速開始快了。一片片農田,一座座的小屋,飛快地在眼前消失。而且,慢慢地,看見了旭日的曙光,計了時差,9點多就可以開始我地布魯塞爾行程了。而且,當年是在車上由乘務員負責檢查證件,辦理出入境的,省了許多的時間。
就像坐普通的長途 Inter City 列車一樣,兩個小時多的車筐,就到了布魯塞爾南站,可以立即展開兩日一夜的布魯塞爾行程。
時間一跳,已經是 2018年。這一次同太太同行,由巴黎出發前往倫敦的我們,又選擇了《Eurostar》作為我們代步的交通工具。Paris 的登車點是 Gare du Nord (巴黎北站),是巴黎最繁華的火車站之一。
根據我於 2009年的經驗,有票在手的話,就可以直接上車。可是,現在已經是 2018年了,好多野都唔同晒了。原來,現在於巴黎登車,多了一個一地兩檢的程序。
在巴黎,蓋了一個由 Paris Nord 離開歐盟神根境地區的印。行前多兩步,就是英國的入境櫃位,由英國派來的入境處人員簡單問了幾句來英國原因後,就蓋上了一個印有巴黎入境的英國入境章,非常之特別。
過了入境處,就可以立即登車了。本來以為可以坐到新車,但月台上的兩部列車都是盤古初開的 Class 373。
Class 373 有一個小小的特色,就是火車的車輪轉向架採用了法國 TGV 慣用的 "關節式轉向架" (Jacobs Bogie)。看過相關的網站,原來此設計有利減少噪音及容易讓列車通過較彎曲的鐵道。
又是兩小時左右的車程,我們回到熟識的倫敦,熟識的 St. Pancras Station 了。在月台上,同時間看見了新舊兩款《Eurostar》,新車 (Class 374) 更流線型,感覺亦比較時尚,在不久的將來,舊的 Class 373 (黃色的列車),準備完成他們的任務了。
在巴黎時,我們坐的車箱位於車尾,所以要慢慢地治月台走到站室。空曠,半圓頂的車站設計,很英國,很傳統。
2009年,看見了接車親吻的銅像,很有感觸。2017年,這一個似乎已經成為地楝的銅像,名叫 "The Meeting Place" 仍在,為車站增添了一個很獨得的浪漫感覺。
《Eurostar》列車,很是方便,尤其是來往倫敦、巴黎、布魯塞爾,比起飛機及跨境巴士,更直接同快捷。此外,他們有季節性巴黎迪士尼及法國好幾個熱門滑雪場地路線,也是很受歡迎的。在2019年,《Eurostar》亦試運了來往阿姆斯特丹 (Amsterdam) 的路線,《Eurostar》的版圖,再配合日後的英國鐵路高速計畫,將會是越來越有發展空間的。
We traveled from Brussels to London and had a very nice time. We reserved seats with a table which worked out very nice with the kids. Being able to walk around and get food is the best way to travel!
We thoroughly enjoyed our journey from Paris to London on Eurostar. Very clean, comfortable and fast. Good value too. Much better than flying.
Usually cheaper to fly than to take the Eurostar so beware, but the train is definitely more comfortable than a flight!
Make sure you arrive at least an hour early for your train to ensure you have enough time to get through customs and security.
Overall, a very confortable and reliable service, make ensure you book well in advance (months) to get a better price.
I usually only leave reviews if there’s something really good or bad. In this case, sadly, it’s terrible. This is my first trip to Paris using the Eurostar. But my God...the seat in the ‘regular’, poor people class is extremely uncomfortable. I never thought I’d say this...but plane seats are better! Unbelievable. Eurostar need to make the seats 100% more comfortable. They need to recline more, be less bulky so one's head actually feels the upper edge of it...which enables passengers to relax. The current seats make you seat up straight for hours....it’s impossible to relax and enjoy the ride.
Awful customer service. We were running a few minutes late to our train because of delays with public transport in Paris. Upon arrival to the station the staff denied our access to the train despite being there before our train left the station. They forced us to change to a later train and pay a $100 fee to do so. The train they switched us to ended up arriving to London 30 min after it was scheduled to which was over an hour and a half later than we were originally supposed to get in - which made us miss another tour we had booked for the day. On top of this the staff asked me how I was able to afford such a trip to Europe (after explaining that I was a student from America) which was pretty rude.