The Eurostar high speed train between London and the mainland of Europe offers three classes of travel: Standard, Standard Premier and Business Premier. I recently traveled in Business Premier on my way from Londen to Paris. Traveling in Business Premier on the Eurostar train is known as one of the most comfortable and convenient ways to travel between both cities. No need to travel to the airport as the trip starts and ends in the center of the city. As I traveled several times in business and first class on planes, I was really curious what to expect in a same class of travel on a high speed train.
Train: Eurostar 9024
Route: London St. Pancras International – Paris Gare du Nord
Date: Wednesday May 11, 2022
Depart: 12:31PM
Arrive: 3:57:PM
Duration: 2h 26m
Train Type: E320
Class of service: Business Premier
St. Pancras International
My trip started at one of the most iconic train stations in Europe and, in my opinion the most beautiful of London. St. Pancras International has been entirely renovated back in 2007 when the high speed line from London to the channel tunnel opened. The old building from 1868 has been preserved while a massive new terminal from Eurostar has been integrated inside.
St. Pancras International is well connected with the rest of the city by subway, bus and taxi. Around the Eurostar terminal, you’ll find some shops and restaurants. The terminal itself with the check-in, boarding area and lounge is on the lower level while the platforms are on the upper level.
As you can see the station was quite crowded when I was traveling. Because queues can be quite long as you’re traveling in Standard and Standard Premier, it’s a good idea to arrive at the station at least 45 minutes before departure as you need to go through security and passport control.
Business Premier Check In
No need to wait that long for me as I was traveling in Business Premier. Business Premier passengers have access to the fast-track check-in which allow them to go through security and passport control in just 10 minutes. As I was checked-in online already, I just needed to show my passport and mobile boarding pass and then go through security.
The boarding area looks impressive and modern. Apart from trains to Paris, also trains to Brussels and Amsterdam are leaving from here. The platform is indicated about 20 minutes before departure on the screens.
All the way on the end, you also find some shops. Good for those who are traveling in Standard as food and drinks are not included in the ticket price. As the boarding area was quite crowded there were few seats available.
Eurostar Business Premier Lounge
No need to wait for me in the boarding area however, as I was granted access to the Business Premier Lounge. I was warmly welcomed at the entrance after showing my Business Premier ticket.
Although I don’t value railway lounges that high, I was quite impressed by this one. There is plenty of food and beverages compared to other railway lounges. As I arrived here at around 11:30am, the breakfast buffet was already finished however. All I saw were some cold beverages, a coffee machine and some snacks like nuts and chips. All good for me as I would be served lunch in the train.
Apart from the cold beverages, there is also a decent selection of beer and wine available. Unfortunately, no cocktails were served during my visit to the lounge as I didn’t arrive after 3pm. The beautiful thing about this lounge is that there is a lower and upper level.
While the lower level is more dedicated to relaxation while enjoying some food, the upper level is more dedicated to get some work done. All over across the lounge, you’ll find comfortable seats. Around 20 minutes before departure, an announcement was made about my train being ready for boarding.
Eurostar Boarding
After making my way upstairs to the platforms, a Siemens Valero e320 train was waiting for me. These are the newer trains in the Eurostar fleet and are quite similar to the German ICE-trains. Eurostar currently has 17 from these trains in its fleet. These trains are quite long to most high speed trains as they consist of a total of 16 carriages. 10 of them are with seats in Standard Class while the first and last 3 carriages are dedicated to travellers in Standard and Business Premier.
My seat was located in carriage 16 which was all the way in the front of the train. These seats have a 1-2 configuration and you’ll find seats in an airline style configuration as well as facing to each other with a table in the middle. The train is also equipped with screens on the ceiling showing information about the trip. Unlike the Standard Class carriage the floor in Business Premier was carpeted which is just that final touch of luxury in trains.
Between the seats, you’ll find enough luggage storage for bigger bags and suitcases. This is always a good thing as you cannot bring checked baggage like on a plane. Smaller items can be placed in the luggage storage above seats.
I was seated in seat 71 which is a single seat in an airline style postion which made me travel forward. I have to say that these seats are quite comfortable with decent legroom and enough padding.
Also the headrest was quite comfortable and there is a footrest as well. There is no private video screen but these seats do offer a small mirror instead. Furthermore, these seats also offer a reading light and you can find a power outlet on the left side of the footrest.
Service in Business Premier
While I was waiting in my seat, a crew member offered me some antibacterial towels. With the QR-code on the packaging, you can see what the menu looks like on your phone. Also newspapers are offered to passengers in Business Premier.
A few moments later, I was offered a class of Piper-Heidsieck champagne which I gladly accepted. This was accompanied with some nuts. Also bottles of water were distributed.
Then the doors closed and an announcement was made that the train was ready for departure. After we left London St. Pancras on time, the train made its way into a long tunnel under the suburbs of London. This is where the high speed line until the channel tunnel begins. After a few moments, the train was at a speed of 186 miles (300 km per hour. As it was lunch time already, the crew started with the meal service. The meal consisted of a piece of bread with butter, a piece of cake and celery with curry saus as a starter.
This was followed by checken as the main course. Unlike in Standard Premier, these meals are served on a tray. Also proper cutlery was served.
These Business Premier menus have been designed with Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc and I must say that I was quite impressed. After the meal service, I was offered a cup of coffee or tea which was followed by a bottle of water.
Facilities on board
Then we approached the channel tunnel which is one of the largest tunnels in the world crossing the English channel. This 33 miles (54 km) long tunnel opened in 1994 and made it possible to connect Londen to Europe by train. The journey through the tunnel takes about 20 minutes and is at a limited speed of about 100 miles (160 km) per hour. In the tunnel, I decided to explore the facilities on board. Apart from a visit to the toilet, there actually is no need to leave the carriage since meals are served on board. There is also a bar in this train which is located in carriage 9. Passengers in Standard class can purchase food and beverages from the menu here.
At the end of the tunnel, we arrived in France which is in a different time zone. It’s exactly one hour later here than in the UK. Once in France the speed started to accelerate again to 186 miles (300 km) per hour. After about 30 minutes we passed through the station of Lille-Europe. This train didn’t stop there as this was a non-stop service from Londen to Paris. I used the rest of travel time to Paris to get some sleep.
Arrival at Paris Gare du Nord
After just 2 hours and 20 minutes, it was time to arrive at our final destination: Paris Gare du Nord. Like at St. Pancras International, Eurostar also has its own terminal here.
As all pasport facilities are handled in London already, passengers can just exit the train in Paris since there is no need to queue up at immigration. After arriving in Paris, I directly could take the subway towards my hotel.
Eurostar Business Premier Bottom Line
Overall, I was quite impressed but the service in Business Premier on this Eurostar high speed train. For this ticket, I paid £ 276 which is about 2 times more expensive as in Standard Premier. Unlike Standard Premier, the Business Premier class offers some more benefits. These are the fast-track security and passport control, the access to the Business Premier lounge and an extensive meal service.
Apart from these benefits, a Standard Premier tickets is always refundable and exchangeable, even 60 days after departure. This gives passengers more flexibility in taking a different train which is a good thing when traveling for business. You can take an earlier train when arriving early or a later train when things are delayed. You can then use this time to comfortably relax or work in the lounge.
What do you think of Eurostar Business Premier? Have you traveled in this class already or have you a trip coming up? Let me know in the comments below.
