UKH

I'm travelling by Eurostar in July, and will be taking ice axe, crampons and rope. I have heard rumours of problems at St Pancras when carrying alpine equipment. Any advice would be welcome.

In reply to gammarus:

It was fine last summer, although someone from the Alpine Club had confirmed this and there was a letter on the public pages of the AC website that I printed off just in case containing confirmation from Eurostar that they would carry axes and crampons.

In reply to gammarus:

It's been discussed a number of times before... I have never tried, but it seems to boil down to: sometimes it's a problem; sometimes it's not. 

My understanding is that climbing gear was previously listed as a prohibited item under 'dangerous sports equipment' but that it was subsequently removed and that current policy is that such gear *is* permitted: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/expedition+alpine/alpine_gear_on_the_euro...?

However they do ask that you proactively make yourself known to security during the boarding process.

But people on the forum have had trouble in the past - just search for threads with 'eurostar' in the title and you'll get examples.

I'd suggest contacting Eurostar directly and ideally getting a written clarification from them to take with you, as the last I've seen about this is a couple years old.

In reply to LakesWinter:

Thanks a lot. I have printed a copy of the letter on the AC website. That should do the trick.

Many thanks again,

Steve

In reply to gammarus:

Hi,

I had problems at Brussels Midi with taking ice axes on the way back earlier this month (confiscated), but no issue with crampons. I had the letter linked above, but they wouldn't acknowledge it. 

Still waiting for a response to emails I sent when I got back, from both Eurostar and the Alpine Club.

I had no problems at all travelling out from London, and from what I've found online Paris Nord is generally much more accepting...

In reply to NP:

No problems travelling from Paris to London in September. I did what was asked and spoke to one of the staff during the boarding process, just before baggage scan.  They couldn't have been more helpful - in fact they even sped up my progress through to the platform by ushering me straight to the front of the queue so that they could explain to the security staff at the baggage scanner.

I had a copy of the Eurostar letter on my phone just in case it might be needed but didn't have to show it.

Don't think crampons are a problem at all.  I had them with me then but didn't bother to mention them and also passed through from Paris to London with crampons in November and just stuck with the rest of the herd (no axe then).

In reply to NP:

I'll be travelling out via Brussels Midi and back via Paris Nord, so fingers crossed should be OK. It's disappointing to hear that your axes were confiscated: will insurance pay up?

In reply to gammarus: My ice axe was confiscated last summer when travelling from Brussels to London.

In reply to NP:

It is disappointing that people (not just you, as per thread) are running into problems in Belgium....

The BMC / Mountaineering Scotland / Mountaineering Ireland were involved in the original agreement (as per AC document) so it would be worth involving them. (and historically Eurostar do seem to have form for unanounced changes in policy)

The good news: the BMC seems to have reached an agreement with Eurostar about alpine equipment -

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/eurostar-confirms-change-of-policy-on-ice-axes

The bad news: this article came out in April 2013, and at present the policy does not seem to apply to Belgium. 

I'll write to Eurostar and BMC, and report back.

In reply to gammarus:

The Brussels security tried to stop me bringing skis on a few years ago - I managed to find a Eurostar employee to overrule them. They clearly don't see a lot on non-standard luggage on the Brussels route though so be ready for a confrontation or go via Lille/Paris.

On the plus side Eurostar have finally updated their website and removed the ice axe reference. 

In reply to gammarus:

T

That was an old agreement, which Eurostar seemed to silently reverse with a change to the regs (and you were supposed to check such items in - doesn't seem to be a clear option now). It was then redone as per the letter on the AC website (early 2022). The current information on their website is all a bit vague. The specific detail about fencing is odd...

All just makes it awkward.

In reply to gammarus:

Hi Steve,

Keep us posted if you hear back from Eurostar/BMC - I still haven't heard back from AC/Eurostar myself.

As  you mentioned, there was this report in 2013, an email confirmation regarding their stance in 2022 (http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/documents/ac_library/eurostar_clarification.p...), and then there was this thread in 2023 (https://www.eagleskiclub.org.uk/forum/ice-axes-and-eurostar#:~:text=A%20pas....) where again Eurostar clarified the arrangement. 

So it seems to be very inconsistent.

Sadly no insurance for this, so hoping Eurostar come to some sort of solution...

Cheers

In reply to gammarus:

I have now had a reply from Eurostar:

"...we are currently working on a clear list of what mountaineering equipment can be carried onboard and this will be published soon [on the Eurostar website]"

"... I can confirm is that these items [unspecified alpine mountaineering equipment, but including ice axes] are not permitted to be carried in Belgium."

[My italics]

Eurostar point put that they operate in four countries, each of which may have different rules.

Fingers crossed.