The international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, Eurostar, has said that it is considering putting an end to its ski train services to the Alps.
According to Eurostar, the company is considering such a decision amid Brexit border concerns.
The rail operator said that additional border checks are the ones to blame and, at the same time, stressed that further challenges may occur in the future due to the impending introduction of the Entry/Exit System (EES).
As the Telegraph explains, passengers have been unable to purchase tickets for the upcoming ski centre.
The same noted that in an email for it, Eurostar said that it continues to face challenges at the border, stressing that it could run only a limited number of services.
In the email for the Telegraph, Eurostar also said that it continues to face challenges related to capacity and noted that it needs to focus on more core routes in order to ensure that all passengers on its train get a high service level.
In its response to the Telegraph, Eurostar also pointed out that a final decision on the future of the ski rain has not yet been made. Moreover, it also indicated that they are currently reviewing all of their plans and stressed that more detail will be shared soon.
In regards to the EES, the operator said that the introduction of the system is also expected to initially cause delays in the future for all people travelling between the UK and EU as non-EU travellers will be required to have their photographs taken and their fingerprints scanned.
While the operator is yet to make a decision on the matter, it has been explained that if the service gets scrapped, the ski train will become the latest service to be cancelled in the last 12 months.
Eurostar stopped offering direct trains from London to the Disneyland site in Marne-la-Vallée on June 7, making it trickier for all Brits to arrange their trips to this destination.
The decision to no longer offer services to this destination was taken last year. Back then, the operator cited the Coronavirus and the fallout from Brexit as the main reason behind the decision.
“While we continue to recover financially from the pandemic and monitor developments in the proposed EU entry-exit system, we need to focus on our core routes to ensure we can continue to provide the high level of service and experience that our customers rightly expect,” the operator said last year when the decision was taken.
As for the other destinations, the operator said they do not plan to make any changes, suggesting that it does not plan to scrap other services.
