Eurostar > Reviews > Coast to Coast in 25 minutes

Author's product rating:   

Frequency of trains	Good
Reliability of trains	Don't know
Comfort of trains	Comfortable
On-board facilities	Poor

Advantages:	You can be through the tunnel in double quick time
Disadvantages:	Its daunting knowing that there is such and immense weight above you

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I travelled on the Eurostar back in 1995 after spending a wonderful 10-day holiday with some friends in Bielefeld, Germany. We were driving back from Germany rather than flying so had decided to travel on Eurostar because of the supposed speed and out of curiosity. Before actually getting there I had been very nervous about going through because I could not understand how a tunnel could withstand the immense weight above it and was convinced that it could collapse at any time. As I got closer to the tunnel, however, I got quite excited as back then it was still relatively new and I felt as though I was about to travel through history so to speak.

We had been told that it took just 35 minutes to travel through the Channel Tunnel and were interested to know if this was possible. As it turned out we spent more time waiting to drive the car onto the train than the journey would actually take. The car carrying train had two levels and passengers were loaded on from the sides. We were travelling on the lower level and once we were inside the train and moving we were allowed to get out of the car and stretch our legs. Being a car carrier and not a people carrier the interior of the train was very basic and there was nowhere that we could go to get a cup of coffee or a bite to eat after our long drive. I was quite disappointed by this as I had expected there to be something even if it was only a dispensing machine. It is very dark in the actual tunnel with the only light being cast from the train itself.

All in all, however, the journey through the tunnel took a mere 25 minutes and we were in daylight again. I would recommend travelling on Eurostar but if I were to travel on it again I would definitely go on the passenger train as I have heard that it is much better that way. Despite my recommendation I am a big fan of the ferry and a lover of the sea so I would probably be more likely to cross the channel via that route even if it does take longer.

The current cost of travelling on Eurostar to Paris is £290 return adult fare for a flexi ticket and £200 for an adult Weekender ticket. You can obtain information about fares for children and other fares at http://www.eurodestination.com/eurostar.html.