As travelling to the United Kingdom from 11 February 2022 was once again possible without too much hassle, we went for a weekend to London for the first time since 2019. As in the meantime Brexit has happened we wanted to see what the effect would be on Eurostar services.

In both Brussels and London the ticket check, security check and both the European Union and the UK identity checks were mostly the same as before. The only difference being that know you need a full passport to travel to/from the UK as a national identity card is not accepted anymore.

The time needed to pass through all checks is roughly the same as before Brexit. The biggest difference that could be seen in Brussels was a huge new walk-through ‘duty-free’ shop, just like in an airport, occupying most of the former waiting room. Prices are extremely elevated and we didn’t really see people buying anything.

The result of the new duty-free shop was that there was little waiting room left with some of it in what looks like a temporary construction area, making the Brussels Eurostar Terminal even less appealing than it already was. In London St. Pancras there is a small duty-free shop at the back of the terminal, but otherwise nothing changed.

On-board the experience is still pretty much the same and in Standard Premier the size of the meal shrunk once again. The little food they offered was delicious and I was happy they served salads without lettuce, so a plus for originality.

All in all the Eurostar experience hasn’t changed much compared to pre-Brexit times, just don’t forget to bring your passport!

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