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Eurostar Service Quality Performance

Introduction

In application of Regulation ((EU) 2021/782 on the rights and obligations of passengers ("the Regulation"), and notably, Article 29, railway companies operating in the territory of a Member State of the European Union must publish an annual quality report (the "Quality Report").

This report follows the format of Annex III of the Regulation - Minimum Service Quality Standards.

  • Travel information and ticket sales
  • Punctuality of services: delays and cancellations
  • Cleanliness of rolling stock and station facilities
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Complaints handling, refunds and compensation
  • Assistance to PRM

1.Travel information and ticket sales

Before travel

Customers can request a copy of our Conditions of Carriage from our contact centre or find them on eurostar.com.

Our train times are always available online through the booking magnet on eurostar.com via the main page and travel info.

Information on ticket prices and conditions are always available via eurostar.com and can also be obtained from our stations and contact centre, details of which can be found at the bottom of this document.

Information on accessibility, access conditions and availability of onboard facilities for disabled people and people with reduced mobility is available on request from all Eurostar stations, our contact centre and on eurostar.com.

Information on accessibility and access conditions for bicycles is also available from all Eurostar stations, our contact centre and on eurostar.com.

Information about incidents which cause significant disruption (i.e. delays of more than 60 minutes which affect more than one train) is available via our live travel information page on eurostar.com. Our contact centre can provide additional help for customers who are unable to use our website.

When services are severely disrupted, customers can opt in (at the time of booking) to receive updates by text and email about possible delays or service alterations prior to their arrival at the departure station. In the event of a delay in which customers are eligible for compensation, this system is also used to inform customers about who they need to contact to receive this.

Information about our travel classes and availability of onboard services is available from all Eurostar stations, our contact centre and via eurostar.com.

To find out about procedures for reclaiming lost luggage, customers can visit eurostar.com or contact the station where the item was last seen or where the train arrived.

During the journey

All our trains have clear signage above the internal doors at the end of each coach, giving information about the location and availability of onboard toilets and the bar coaches.

Customers can also ask any member of the Eurostar onboard team for this information.

Information regarding the next station will be announced on board by our train managers.

In the case of delays the train manager will announce information at appropriate intervals.

The train manager will also make announcements about main connecting services.

Safety guideline leaflets can be found on board, and the train manager will also make announcements shortly before departure. Further announcements are made shortly after departure. Train managers can also be contacted at all times via the team at the bar coaches.

Tickets

Buying tickets

Customers can buy tickets for travel in advance or on the day of travel by visiting eurostar.com, by calling our contact centre, or by visiting one of our stations in person.

Ticket refunds

Refunds of unused tickets are made through the original point of sale, provided the ticket purchased is refundable. Therefore, if the customer bought the ticket on eurostar.com and it is refundable, it may be refunded via eurostar.com.

If the customer has already taken part of a ticketed journey and is requesting a refund as a result of a cancellation or compensation for a delay for which compensation is payable, the refund is made by our Customer Care team. We will aim to make such refunds within one month of a request and where not possible, no later than three months after a request.

If, before departure, it is reasonably expected that there will be a delay of 60 minutes or more on the Eurostar service, customers will be entitled to either a full refund or to postpone their journey to a later date. To claim the refund, customers simply need to complete our online refund request form with details of the original ticket to change their booking. Customers can make the change directly through the Manage Your Booking section on eurostar.com.

2. Punctuality of service: delays and cancellations

Delays:

At Eurostar, we set ourselves high standards of train punctuality and make every effort to get passengers to their destination on time. Our 2024 target is to ensure that

85.5% of trains arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.

There are occasions, usually outside of our control, where trains may be delayed or disrupted. When this is the case, this is how we will help customers:

Delays of 30 – 60 minutes affecting more than one service:

Updated announcements will be made within the station where possible.

Updated announcements will be made on board the affected trains at appropriate intervals.

Information about connections and onward travel will be available from the train manager or station staff.

Delays in excess of 60 minutes affecting more than one service:

Updated announcements will be made within the station every 10 minutes.

Updated announcements will be made on board the affected trains at appropriate intervals (usually every 10 minutes for the first 30 minutes and at least every 15 minutes thereafter).

Information and help regarding connections and onward travel will be available from the train manager.

The train manager will make an announcement regarding the reason for the delay, the effect on arrival times and whether compensation is applicable.

We will make every effort to give customers water appropriate to the circumstances, location and duration of the delay.

Where possible, passengers will be assisted with their onward connections. As a member of the Railteam alliance, customers are entitled through the ‘Hop on the next available train’ agreement to take the next available high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service results in the customer not making their originally planned connection. This applies between high-speed services of Railteam alliance members.

Where possible, a taxi or hotel will be made available to customers on arrival when the delay occurs late at night and public transport is unavailable.

Where possible and subject to availability, we will book hotels for customers who cannot reach their onward connection or final destination on the same day and are unable to make their own arrangements. If customers do make their own arrangements, we will cover reasonable costs for hotels or taxis where receipts are provided.

Delays in excess of 60 minutes affecting the majority of services:

When major disruptions occur, we will do our best to help our travellers with onward connections, refreshments, hotels and taxis. As well as the usual communication channels, we will also provide further information through the local press and eurostar.com so that customers can decide whether they still wish to continue their journey as booked.

Delay Compensation Policy

For delays to Eurostar services, we will make the following compensation available to customers:

Delays of 60–119 minutes – We offer a Eurostar e-voucher (“e-voucher”) worth 30% of the affected leg. Alternatively, customers may claim a 25% refund of the affected leg of the journey.*

Delays of 120–179 minutes – We offer a Eurostar e-voucher (“e-voucher”) worth 60% of the affected leg. Alternatively, customers may claim a 50% refund of the affected leg of the journey.*

Delays of 180 minutes or more – We offer a Eurostar e-voucher (“e-voucher”) worth 75% of the affected leg. Alternatively, customers may claim a 50% refund of the affected leg of the journey.*

* This will be calculated based on the price actually paid for the leg of the journey subject to the delay

If customers choose an e-voucher, they have three months from the date of the delay to claim it and 12 months from the date of the delay to redeem it towards a new journey. To claim, customers can go to to our claiming compensation page.

Partial refunds will be provided by way of a bank transfer or refund to the original credit card used and must be claimed within three months of the delay on our website, using the details of the original ticket.

To apply for a refund, customers should submit their request online.

Punctuality Performance

Year to date results for April 2023 to the end of March 2024 are:

80.6% of our trains arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.

23.2% percent of our trains were delayed at departure.

19.4% percent of our trains were delayed at arrival, and of those:

  • 16.7 percent of our trains were delayed by less than 60 minutes
  • 2.2 percent of our trains were delayed by between 60 and 119 minutes
  • 0.5 percent of our trains were delayed by 120 minutes or more

0.5% of our international train services were operationally cancelled.

We have not applied the force majeure grounds on any of our services and have compensated all customers for delays and cancellations during this period.

Cancellation of trains

When trains are cancelled, we provide the same information and give help to customers affected by delays, and the same compensation policy applies.

If a train is cancelled and as a result there will be a delay on arrival at the destination station of 60 minutes or more, customers will be entitled to either a full refund of their ticket for the affected journey if they choose not to travel or can postpone their journey to a later date or time. If they travel on the next available service on the same day they are entitled to delay compensation if they arrive with an overall delay of 60 minutes or more.

3. Cleanliness of rolling stock and station facilities

Stations

Eurostar does not manage train stations on its continental route services (Eurostar trains operated by THI Factory SA on routes between Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands). It is therefore not directly responsible for station cleanliness.

Eurostar do have agreements in place with station owners to ensure that a good level of cleanliness is maintained in the stations we operate in.

On trains

Train cleaning

Our trains are cleaned before each commercial service and undertake periodic deep cleaning operations.

Performance: train cleaning

The performance of train cleanliness is measured via:

Internal cleaning controls

"Mystery customers" who check the cleanliness on board during travel and at their seats.

In 2023, our performance reached a 98.2% compliance rate for inspections carried out by mystery customers during journeys.

Air conditioning

We ensure that train coach temperatures are controlled to offer a comfortable journey for travellers. We also ensure that the air conditioning is regularly maintained to ensure it is working properly and, where necessary, that issues are reported and fixed.

4. Customer satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Eurostar measures the satisfaction level of its customers via online surveys. The survey criteria are as follows:

Questionnaires are answered online after travel. The surveys are conducted continuously. In case of a delay exceeding 10 minutes, a special questionnaire is sent to each customer to determine their satisfaction level following the service disruption.

Customers have a scale from 0 to 10 to express their satisfaction level (0 means that the customer is completely dissatisfied and 10 that they are completely satisfied). Travellers are considered satisfied when they enter a score equal to or greater than 7:

  • From 0 to 4: they are considered dissatisfied
  • From 5 to 6: they are considered moderately satisfied
  • From 7 to 8: they are considered satisfied
  • 9 and 10: they are considered completely satisfied

The satisfaction level for a given topic is, therefore, the proportion of customers who entered a score from 7 to 10.

All this customer feedback forms the basis of our continuous improvement plans. It is also used across the business by senior management to direct long-term strategy, and tactically by customer-facing teams to help improve customer service.

5. Complaints handling: refunds and compensation

Our Customer Care team is here to correspond with customers who are unhappy with their Eurostar experience. Complaints and feedback are raised to responsible managers for comment, investigation and remedial action as required. Appropriate compensation will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

We will use the customer’s preferred contact method when responding to a complaint.

Information on how to submit a complaint regarding our services is available via eurostar.com.

Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 our Customer Care team received 9,216 written customer contacts that were logged as a complaint.

The table below shows a breakdown of the top reasons for contact dealt with by our Customer Care team between 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. This team also responds in cases where customers praise our service and pass on suggestions for changes to services, as well as complaints and requests for compensation due to delays.

The main reasons for contact were:

Complaint (Station/On board) 61%

Refund 10%

Information 9%

Exchange 9%

Loyalty program / account management 7%

Others 4%

6. Assistance

Eurostar offers customers various solutions to assist with disabilities or reduced mobility:

Travellers can request assistance up to 24 hours in advance with boarding and getting off the train on arrival. They can also request that an adapted taxi or car be booked for them. For customers unable to pre-book assistance, it is possible to ask for assistance at the station on the day of their journey. We ask that customers arrive at least 30 minutes before departure, and we'll aim to meet their assistance request in time for their train. However, we cannot guarantee they can travel on the initial train booked. We may need to move them to a later train, free of charge.

On board each Eurostar continental route train, two places are specially equipped for wheelchairs in coach 1. These places have an alarm button to call the train manager if assistance is required. The wheelchair accessible toilet is located nearby.

A special fare is also available for companions travelling with a passenger with a disability or reduced mobility and for people travelling in a wheelchair.

We have a newly recruited Accessibility Manager whose role it is to oversee the accessibility services we offer and drive continuous improvements. This role will also act as the link between our customer accessibility panel and the various organisations that we work with.

Comprehensive information about the assistance services we provide and what to expect when travelling with us can be found on eurostar.com.