Thinking about a new adventure this year? Disability blogger Pippa Stacey travelled with her best friend entirely by train from Yorkshire to Bruges on the Eurostar. In this article, she shares her experience travelling in her powered wheelchair and tips to help you plan your own trip.
As I have a chronic illness and use a powered wheelchair, I was curious about how travelling to a new country on the Eurostar would be different to flying. I wanted to explore the experience from both an accessibility and a health-based perspective.
Before this trip, I’d had two previous experiences travelling by Eurostar in a powered wheelchair. When I travelled from London to Disneyland Paris, I found the travel days less physically demanding than I expected. So, when I was planning our trip to Bruges, I was curious about how I would cope with a similar but slightly longer journey.
How to book Eurostar tickets as a wheelchair user
Eurostar tickets can be booked online or over the phone. First, I looked up the Eurostar timetable from London to Brussels on our chosen day of travel and noted down the trains that would be best for us. Then, I used the access line to call the team and book over the phone.
The advisor confirmed our seats for the outbound and return journey. A big perk of travelling by Eurostar as a wheelchair user is that you get a discount on your ticket prices and are upgraded from Standard to Standard Premier tickets. The Standard Premier carriages on the Eurostar are quieter and more spacious than the Standard carriages. With these tickets, you also have the bonus of complimentary food and drinks during your travels.
While confirming our tickets over the phone, I was also asked about my access requirements. The advisor confirmed the ramp would be available, and that staff would be ready to assist me when we boarded the Eurostar. They also confirmed that the same support would be ready at our first destination in Brussels.
I also shared my dietary requirements with the advisor and asked how to book assistance for our onward train journey from Brussels to Bruges. I was very impressed by the advisor I spoke to on this day. They were knowledgeable, efficient, and genuinely wanted to make our journey the best it could be.
How to plan for the departure
Eurostar encourages disabled passengers to arrive at the station and begin check-in at least an hour before their train departs. It’s impossible to know how busy the station will be, so it’s always better to leave plenty of time so you do not have to worry or rush. When we arrived at London St Pancras, we went to the signposted ‘Eurostar Assist’ desk and checked in with the staff.
Security and passport control
The staff took us through security where we started with bag checks. If you’re using a powered wheelchair, remember to remove any scooter or pannier bags from your chair and put them through the scanner with your luggage. After this, we went through passport control checks.
Eurostar gives disabled passengers access to the Business Lounge at each destination. After we had gone through security, we spent some time in the lounge at London St Pancras.
These lounges are much calmer and more peaceful than the rest of the communal areas, providing a bit of respite for me and my chronic illness symptoms. We also took the opportunity to grab a light breakfast and some drinks before it was time to board.
Boarding the train to Brussels
We had agreed to meet assistance at our platform at a set time. Once we were there, they took us over to our train before general boarding began. A lovely long ramp was waiting for me, and the wheelchair space was clearly signposted as soon as you were onboard. Boarding slightly earlier than the other passengers meant I did not feel rushed and could sort my luggage out and settle in for the journey at my own pace.
Inside the train
The journey to Brussels took just under two hours and was a lovely experience. There were nice big windows to enjoy the views before entering the Eurotunnel, and all the staff on board were friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed our complimentary food and drinks (there was even oat milk for my tea!) and an accessible toilet nearby, too.
By this point, I was experiencing some fatigue and did my best to rest during the journey. In my experience, the only disadvantage to travelling by Eurostar is that you have to stay in your wheelchair rather than having the option of transferring to a seat.
My powered wheelchair only has a low back (one of the reasons I usually prefer to transfer), so on this occasion, there was no way to comfortably lean back and rest my head. To make the best of it, I scooted closer to the table and leaned forward onto my bag instead!
Getting a connection train to Bruges
We got off the Eurostar, and I had left an hour for us to check in and board our next train to Bruges. As this next train was a local service, we left the Eurostar part of the station and checked in for assistance at the general train station, which was helpfully part of the same building.
I had also booked assistance for this leg of the journey in advance using the SNCB Assist app (similar to Passenger Assistance in the UK). The friendly assistance team showed us to the correct platform and deployed the ramp so I could board the train.
Accessibility in the train to Bruges
There was no allocated wheelchair space on this train. Instead, the seats lining each side of the carriage flipped up so I could put myself wherever I was comfortable. An hour later, the train pulled into our stop, and assistance was ready and waiting with the ramp to disembark. We left the station and found ourselves in beautiful Bruges, ready to enjoy our mini break.
Although the trip was tiring, I was again surprised by how well I coped with the Eurostar. It felt much easier than flying. I think having the peace of mind that my powered wheelchair was with me the whole time, instead of having to be apart from it like I would on a plane, made the experience a good one. I will definitely travel by Eurostar again in the future!
Tips for travelling by Eurostar in a powered wheelchair
If you’re planning a similar journey, here are my top tips:
- Book assistance ahead of time and do not be afraid to ask the team any questions about your trip
- Check in early so you can avoid delays and make the most of the complimentary lounges
- Think about time differences when planning your journey. For example, our clocks jumped forward an hour while we were on the Eurostar
- Leave plenty of time between connecting trains. Brussels station is huge and I was glad I’d left an hour between the Eurostar arriving and our local train leaving
- If you’re managing fatigue, remember to take breaks when you can. I travelled down from York to London the night before our Eurostar trip to shorten our following travel day, and I rested in bed as soon as we got to our hotel in Bruges.
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