Prohibited items

What you can and cannot take on board as luggage.

Food entry restrictions in Great Britain from 12 April 2025

Milk, dairy products, and certain meats from the EU are temporarily banned due to a rise in foot and mouth disease cases in mainland Europe. Please check GOV.UK (opens in a new tab) for more info.

What you can’t take

To make sure everyone can travel safely with us, there are a few things we don’t allow on our trains under any circumstances, and some restricted items that will have to be booked on a courier service. If you’re not sure about a particular item, just get in touch to check before you travel. Find out more about customs regulations when travelling between the UK and Europe.

Remember, this list doesn’t cover absolutely everything, but it’s a good guide to what you can and can’t take with you.

Anything that’s inherently dangerous or that could be used to commit an act of violence or threat will not be allowed.

If our security teams have any concerns about an item that they believe might represent a risk, Eurostar reserves the right to remove or refuse that item.

Please check before you travel:

Weapons, Firearms, and Explosives

Unlicensed firearms, including replicas and de-activated firearms. Imitation or toy guns that have the appearance of a genuine weapon.
Ammunition of any calibre and in any quantity.
All explosives: military shells (including war souvenirs and relics), detonators, smoke cartridges, grenades, mines, explosive military stores, imitation devices, fireworks, flares, and pyrotechnics.
Items containing incapacitating substances such as gas guns, tear gas sprays, mace, CS gas, phosphorus, acid and other dangerous chemicals that could be used to maim or disable.
Objects which cause an electric shock that can render people defenceless or cause pain.
Any other weapon made, adapted or intended for use as an offensive weapon.
Any quantity of inflammable substances, including empty canisters e.g. petrol, methylated spirits, paint thinners, camping gas or butane cylinders (regardless of the quantity). Don’t worry though, you can take nail polish and hairspray.
Firelighters and lighter fuel.

Sharp objects and knives

All flick knives regardless of size.
Gravity knives, switchblades and daggers with blades longer than 77mm in France and 3 inches in the UK.
Folding/lock pocketknives are also banned.
Small folding pocketknives with blades under 77mm in France and 3 inches in the UK without a locking mechanism are the exception and are permitted.

Banned items

Gardening equipment such as chainsaws and secateurs, and gardening pesticides like weed killers.
Illegal drugs.
Any item of furniture.
E-scooters and hoverboards including transport of their associated batteries.
Surfboards or windsurfing equipment.
Perishable items based on customs regulations. Rules may vary whether you’re travelling to the UK or the EU and temporary restrictions may occasionally be implemented. Please check before you travel:
- Service-public.fr (opens in a new tab)
- UK customs info on food (opens in a new tab)

This also applies to military shells and cartridges (even if they appear to be empty) in their original form or as repurposed items. Decorative artillery shells, like the vases in the picture, are also strictly prohibited.

These items are a potential danger to you and others around you. They have also been the cause of frequent station evacuations and significant travel delays when found.

We will also disregard any certification from sellers of such items claiming that they have been de-activated and are therefore harmless. The police will deal with each detected item in the same way.

Items that can only be carried when registered with Eurostar Travel services

Certain items can only be carried when registered with Eurostar Travel services. Please visit our luggage page for more information on this service.

Licensed firearms

Licensed firearms (with certificate) – Eurostar prohibits all replicas.
Starter pistols. A firearms certificate will be required and a European Firearms Pass may be required. You’ll need to check in advance with the relevant national authorities in the country of boarding and destination. Note that all ammunition must be removed.

Sharp objects and knives

Chef knives/knives.
Cultual, ceremonial and religious knives and daggers (Kukri, Sgian-dubh, Kirpan) without a locking mechanism and blades over 77mm in France and 3 inches in the UK.
Open razors (also called straight razors).
Martial arts weapons (e.g., swords, foils, sabers—in sheath).
Antique swords.
Scissors with blades longer than 77mm in France and 3 inches in the UK.
Tradesman's tools.

Sports equipment

Spears and spear guns, crossbows, crossbow bolts, longbows, longbow arrows or starting pistols
Harpoons/pneumatic underwater rifles
Sports bats, cues and darts
Fencing equipment. Please note you can register fencing equipment (épées, foils and sabres), as long as they’re transported in a box made for this purpose and kept in it at all times at the station and on the train.
Non-foldable pool cue and bat.
Mountaineering equipment (Ice picks and cramps).
Camping tools

For general enquiries, please email the Eurostar Travel Services team on travelservices@eurostar.com.

Items that can be carried without registering

Nail polish and hairspray.
Picnic food intended for consumption during the journey.
Syringes.
Scissors and cutters smaller than 77 mm.
Knitting needles.
Round-tipped knives
Darts
Golf clubs and hockey sticks up to 120 x 35 x 35cm
Skis and snowboards. For safety reasons, skis and snowboards must be kept in a protective case that covers the whole item. You can find more information on our luggage allowance page.
Camping equipment as part of your luggage allowance, as long as they’re packed in bags or cases under 85cm long.
Attention: Camping gas or butane cylinders and canisters (regardless of quantity) cannot be brought on board under any circumstances.

For large sums of money, please verify current regulations on our customs information page.

Our onboard alcohol policy

To maintain a comfortable environment for all our travellers, we have some limits around the amount of alcohol you can bring on board.

We want our passengers to have a relaxing, pleasant experience and that’s why we reserve the right to confiscate excessive amounts of alcohol intended for consumption on the journey. We also have the right to refuse access to our services if a traveller’s physical or mental state is affected by alcohol or drugs.

We limit consumption on board (per person) to either:

Four 440 ml bottles or cans of beer
One 750 ml bottle of wine

Please note: travellers cannot drink large bottles of spirits on board.

We appreciate that passengers often want to bring a few bottles back from their trip and we are happy for customers to bring unopened bottles of alcohol to take on to their destination. Any passengers with large quantities will need to contact a courier service.

Although you can bring alcohol with you and we serve alcohol on board, safety is our top priority. So, please drink in moderation. If you behave in an antisocial way which ruins the journey for other passengers or break any laws or by-laws, we might ask you to leave the train at the nearest station.

Night ski trains and trains taking fans to or from a sports event

As a result of some incidents on these services, we don't sell alcohol on board or allow travellers to bring their own alcohol with them. Any alcohol is confiscated during check-in and only non-alcoholic drinks in sealed bottles are allowed to pass through security at your departure station. If these rules apply on your train, we’ll let you know before you travel.