Fifteen hours before my train from Paris to London, Eurostar canceled it.
I had booked my July trip back in March. My five days in London were fully planned months in advance, the hotel was paid for, and I was literally packing my bag when the cancellation email arrived.
Eurostar offered a refund or the option to change trains. The problem was that every train for the next three days was already sold out. I was traveling with my family, and simply staying in Paris for another three days was not an option.
15 hours before departure
I called Eurostar customer service several times. An automated message said they would not discuss canceled trains and told affected passengers to use the app instead.
I also contacted Eurostar through its online support. The reply eventually came by email more than 30 days later, apologizing for the inconvenience. Of course, by then our London trip was long over.
What bothered me most was the feeling that once the train was canceled, Eurostar simply left passengers to deal with the consequences themselves.
So I spent hours refreshing the booking page. Finally, three seats appeared on a train leaving the same morning we were originally supposed to travel. I booked them immediately before they disappeared again.
We made it to London. Oh, and not on time, by the way.
I still have no idea why those seats became available. Maybe someone canceled. Maybe Eurostar released them. Whatever happened, refreshing the booking page turned out to be more useful than customer service.
For a company selling international train tickets between major European cities, I expected more than an automated message and an apology arriving a month later. That is the part I find shameful about how Eurostar handled the cancellation.
I have taken trains all over the world
I have traveled by train in China, Japan, Thailand, Ukraine, Portugal, Poland, the United States and plenty of other countries. Some journeys were excellent, some were delayed, and a few did not go according to plan. But I had never found myself in a situation quite like this one.
Usually, when a train is canceled, there is another departure, replacement transport or at least someone trying to help passengers get where they are going. That has been my experience across very different railway systems and countries. Sometimes the solution is inconvenient, and sometimes you arrive late, but there is usually some kind of solution.
That is why my first experience with Eurostar left such a bad impression.
I actually like Eurostar trains
The thing is, I have no problem with the trains themselves.
The seats are comfortable, there is enough luggage space, and the journey is fast. Going directly from central Paris to central London is also far more convenient than flying or taking a bus. There is no trip to an airport far outside the city, and you arrive directly at St Pancras in central London.
If everything runs normally, I would happily take Eurostar again. But a good train is not enough to make a good company, and my experience proved that to me.
30 years of monopoly
Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel began in 1994. More than 30 years later, Eurostar is still the only international passenger train operator using it. And Eurostar is not exactly known for being cheap.
Transport & Environment, a European transport NGO, ranked 27 European rail operators in 2024. In its updated ranking, Eurostar came last, with an overall score of 4.7 out of 10 and a reliability score of 3.8. T&E also found that Eurostar tickets were almost twice as expensive as those of other European operators on routes of comparable length.
Of course, Eurostar is not an ordinary domestic railway. Running international trains through the Channel Tunnel comes with costs that many other European operators do not have.
But passengers have still had almost no direct alternative. If Eurostar was too expensive, sold out or simply did not provide the service you wanted, there was no second company offering the same direct train between London and continental Europe.
What makes this especially strange to me is the European Union’s attitude toward competition. The EU regularly challenges dominant companies when consumers have too little choice. Yet on one of Europe’s busiest international rail routes, passengers have effectively had one operator for more than 30 years.
I find that hypocritical. If competition is supposed to protect consumers, why was this situation allowed to continue for so long?
Competition may finally arrive
Things may finally be changing. On August 17, 2026, Britain’s Office of Rail and Road preapproved a framework agreement allowing Virgin Trains to use HS1. The agreement could support up to 20 daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam from October 1, 2030.
There is still a long way to go. Virgin needs access to the Channel Tunnel and European rail networks, as well as the necessary safety approvals, before any of those trains can actually run.
Trenitalia France, Evolyn and Gemini Trains have also announced plans for international services through the Channel Tunnel, although their projects are at different stages.
I am not expecting several new operators to appear anytime soon. But even one serious competitor would finally give passengers another option. It might also give Eurostar a reason to improve.
I still think the train is the best way to travel between Paris and London. I would much rather spend a little over two hours going from one city center to another than deal with airports. But after this experience, I would think twice before relying on Eurostar for a trip where arriving on time really matters.
I like the train. I just wish there were another company I could choose.