Eurostar has urged passengers not to travel on Thursday (March 7) after customs staff continue to enact heightened security checks at Paris Gare du Nord, designed to simulate the likely effect of Brexit.
Passengers were sent a note on Thursday morning which read: “We are expecting sizeable delays and congestion in Paris Gare du Nord today (March 7) due to French customs work to rule. We would recommend not travelling unless necessary.”
It comes after the additional security checks caused delays of up to two hours at Gare du Nord on Wednesday evening, Eurostar said.
Thousands of passengers found themselves stuck in huge queues at passport control where they faced extra questioning and bag checks.
Feeling like a pawn in the Brexit game as I’m currently stuck at Gare du Nord while French Eurostar staff prove how terrible Brexit will be \uD83D\uDE2D pic.twitter.com/2E2IKcQT17
— Lucy Hagger (@lucyclare23) March 6, 2019
Passenger Lucy Hagger wrote on Twitter: “Feeling like a pawn in the Brexit game as I’m currently stuck at Gare du Nord while French Eurostar staff prove how terrible Brexit will be.”
Tony Santangelli added: “It appears the French have collapsed again. Work to rule to highlight how bad Brexit will be. 2+ hr delays at Gare du Nord.”
A glimpse into the future at Gare du Nord today, French customs making life difficult for Eurostar passengers because of Brexit #75minsdelay
— Nigel Appleton (@NigelAppleton) March 7, 2019
Others posted images of lengthy queues at security where passengers reported waiting for upwards of 90 minutes instead of the usual 15-20 minutes.
In a joint statement, the five French labour unions involved said the situation would alert the French authorities to the “state of disrepair of the customers administration”, Reuters reports.
Eurostar added: "Should you need to travel, please make sure you proceed to the ticket gates at the time indicated on your ticket, arriving later could risk you missing your train."