A friend who uses a wheelchair recently bought a return trip from Paris to London with Eurostar and booked assistance at both ends of his journey. At the Gare du Nord in Paris, he was duly wheeled to the train, but on his arrival in London he was told that Eurostar staff were no longer allowed to push a wheelchair. Passengers must either propel their own chair, or be accompanied by a companion. Eventually, a member of staff asked if they could take his photograph to show their boss in case of any later difficulties, then wheeled him and his bag to the taxi rank. On his return journey, he was again informed that staff could not push his wheelchair. He was told that in Paris, Eurostar employs an agency to provide the service, but in London it now relies on its own employees. Eventually, he was told he could be wheeled on to an earlier service. It was stressful to discover that he could, in principle, be left stranded, and humiliating that, on both occasions, the problem was resolved only by negotiation.
IJ, Ascot

I am enraged by this story. Your friend is a young student who had travelled to London to see a play performed by actors with disabilities. You told me how excited he was to venture on his first solo trip abroad, and how the play had shown him that his disability need not be an obstacle to a successful career – only to be told by Eurostar that he should have brought a carer.

Quite apart from the insensitivity of its apparently new “policy”, it is, in my view, a breach of contract. The booking confirmation states that your friend and his luggage would be wheeled to and from the train in Paris and in London. As did Eurostar’s accessibility policy.

I assumed it would acknowledge a mistake and put things right when I highlighted this painful case. It did not. It told me that on the continent, external agencies, with trained staff, were used for special assistance, but this had been brought in house in London, and staff were not trained to push different types of wheelchairs.

Passengers travelling alone must therefore be pushed in a station wheelchair or, if they insist on their own mobility aid, and cannot propel themselves, must bring (and pay for) a companion.

“At Eurostar, we prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our customers and staff above all else,” it said, pointing me to that same accessibility policy, which made no mention of these requirements. I repeatedly asked why these onerous rules were not publicised, but it did not reply.

I therefore reported the issue to the Office of Rail and Road, which requires licensed operating companies to publish and abide by equitable accessible travel policies.

Within 24 hours, Eurostar had updated its policy to make it clear that passengers must transfer to a station wheelchair if they wanted assistance. It sent me a new response, apologising for your friend’s experience, and offered him and a companion free tickets to London.

It seems the company has no intention of either training its staff, or forking out for a competent agency. It is an outlier here. Wheelchair users travelling within the UK can be helped on and off every train in their own wheelchairs under the Passenger Assist scheme.

Unresolved Eurostar complaints can be taken to the watchdog, London TravelWatch, which mediates and campaigns on behalf of passengers and to which I’ve also reported Eurostar’s policy.

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