A couple Eurostar questions

My wife and I are planning a holiday to England for early next year...
instead of flying to London we're contemplating flying into Paris and a
couple of days later taking the Eurostar to London...

What I was wondering is.... if you book directly with Eurostar (ie.
calling them on the phone), can you request specific seating? I was
going to book through Rail Europe (it is a *little* bit cheaper), but
they say you cannot request a forward facing seat due to the fact that
the trains sometimes change direction. I think that's incorrect
because I understood that Eurostars always face the same direction (as
they have markers on the platforms for each coach).

Does anyone have any experience booking with Eurostar over the phone?
Are the agents good at providing specific seating (ie. forward facing
by a window... not a pillar!)?

Also, we will be travelling on a Sunday in Februrary. I cannot check
fares yet on Eurostar's website for February, so I checked a Sunday in
October. Should the fare be roughly the same?

And one last question... we will both have BritRail passes. It says on
the Eurostar website that you can get a "Passholder's Fare". Can we
get this even if our passes have not been activated yet? (ie. we won't
be in England, until after our Eurostar journey)?

Thanks

Nick

drevil0208 wrote:

they say you cannot request a forward facing seat due to the fact that
the trains sometimes change direction. I think that's incorrect
because I understood that Eurostars always face the same direction (as
they have markers on the platforms for each coach).

Although I can't off the top of my head think of when Eurostars reverse
in normal service, they are occasionally turned for operational reasons
eg if prior to a journey equipment malfunctioned in the leading cab.

Although the seats within a car are numbered permanently, the coach
numbers are not permanently assigned to the coaches as you seem to
imagine; the coach number and destination of the service is shown on a
liquid crystal display alongside each coach door and inside each coach
end vestibule. The train management system ensures that car 1 is at the
London end and car 18 is at the Paris or Brussels.

If you draw a rear facing seat, depending on passenger loading, you may
be able to change seats once the train has started.

"contrex" wrote in message
ups.com...

drevil0208 wrote:

they say you cannot request a forward facing seat due to the fact that
the trains sometimes change direction. I think that's incorrect
because I understood that Eurostars always face the same direction (as
they have markers on the platforms for each coach).

Although I can't off the top of my head think of when Eurostars reverse
in normal service, they are occasionally turned for operational reasons
eg if prior to a journey equipment malfunctioned in the leading cab.

Although the seats within a car are numbered permanently, the coach
numbers are not permanently assigned to the coaches as you seem to
imagine; the coach number and destination of the service is shown on a
liquid crystal display alongside each coach door and inside each coach
end vestibule. The train management system ensures that car 1 is at the
London end and car 18 is at the Paris or Brussels.

If you draw a rear facing seat, depending on passenger loading, you may
be able to change seats once the train has started.

The only time that I can think of when a train might 'change orientation'
would be a set working to Marne-la-Vallee, and then going back to Le Landy
or Gare du Nord via the chord near Gonesse for its next working. However, if
they did this, then the numbering of the carriages would be reconfigured
upon arrival, I believe. Certainly, having been using them fairly
intensively over the past three years, I can't think of any occasion when
I've seen them configured in 'reverse formation'. Sadly, the E* driver who
posts here is conspicuous by his absence at the moment to give further
details.
Try contacting E* direct to see if you can book your seats facing direction
of travel- failing that, when you arrive at Gare du Nord, ask the people at
the ticket desk if they can help. They're generally pretty helpful, I've
found.
Brian

"drevil0208" wrote in message
ups.com...

And one last question... we will both have BritRail passes. It says on
the Eurostar website that you can get a "Passholder's Fare". Can we
get this even if our passes have not been activated yet? (ie. we won't
be in England, until after our Eurostar journey)?



According to http://www.seat61.com/Railpass.htm#supplements%20cost

"Eurostar Paris to London: Passholder fare about 70 euro one-way, 140 euro
return. The cheapest regular fares are cheaper than the passholder fare, if
you are making a return journey and can commit to a particular train in
advance."

So worth checking out the option of a normal return if you are flying home
from Paris too. They are 59 UKP if booked early enough. Otherwise I'm pretty
sure you can buy a passholder's ticket in advance and it is valid when you
show your pass.

Dave

In message , at 08:54:49 on Tue,
22 Aug 2006, Dave remarked:
Otherwise I'm pretty sure you can buy a passholder's ticket in advance
and it is valid when you show your pass.

A pass, or a validated pass? They don't become "active" until stamped by
a UK ticket office, and he won't be in the UK until after his E* trip.
--
Roland Perry

In article . com,
contrex writes
they say you cannot request a forward facing seat due to the fact that
the trains sometimes change direction. I think that's incorrect
because I understood that Eurostars always face the same direction (as
they have markers on the platforms for each coach).

Although I can't off the top of my head think of when Eurostars reverse
in normal service, they are occasionally turned for operational reasons
eg if prior to a journey equipment malfunctioned in the leading cab.

Although the seats within a car are numbered permanently, the coach
numbers are not permanently assigned to the coaches as you seem to
imagine; the coach number and destination of the service is shown on a
liquid crystal display alongside each coach door and inside each coach
end vestibule. The train management system ensures that car 1 is at the
London end and car 18 is at the Paris or Brussels.

Right so far.

However, the train consists of two identical half-sets with the numbers
affixed to the seats. So if seat X in car N is facing forwards on
journeys from London:
- seat X in car N is rearwards on journeys to London
- seat X in car 18-N is rearwards on journeys from London
- seat X in car 18-N is facing on journeys to London

Turning the entire formation around won't alter this. Seat X will now be
the other way round, but car N will have become 18-N.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Tel: +44 20 8495 6138 (work) | Web: http://www.davros.org
Fax: +44 870 051 9937 | Work:
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Does anyone have any experience booking with Eurostar over the phone?
Are the agents good at providing specific seating (ie. forward facing
by a window... not a pillar!)?

Better to do it online on eurostar.com - you can specify seat types on
the website too. The person on the phone will always try to sell you
the most expensive ticket available. Online it's easier to compare the
prices of several trains.

Also, we will be travelling on a Sunday in Februrary. I cannot check
fares yet on Eurostar's website for February, so I checked a Sunday in
October. Should the fare be roughly the same?

The pricing structure is demand responsive but does not vary with
season. In other words, the same fare will be available to *some*
travellers in February, but wether *you* manage to fetch it is a
different question. That will depend on the time of day you travel,
how far in advance you book, and how popular the particulart train is.

On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:54:49 +0100, "Dave" wrote:


"drevil0208" wrote in message
oups.com...

And one last question... we will both have BritRail passes. It says on
the Eurostar website that you can get a "Passholder's Fare". Can we
get this even if our passes have not been activated yet? (ie. we won't
be in England, until after our Eurostar journey)?



According to http://www.seat61.com/Railpass.htm#supplements%20cost

"Eurostar Paris to London: Passholder fare about 70 euro one-way, 140 euro
return. The cheapest regular fares are cheaper than the passholder fare, if
you are making a return journey and can commit to a particular train in
advance."

So worth checking out the option of a normal return if you are flying home
from Paris too. They are 59 UKP if booked early enough. Otherwise I'm pretty
sure you can buy a passholder's ticket in advance and it is valid when you
show your pass.

I believe the passholder discount counts as one day against the
pass, and so would require activation of the pass.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 09:49:15 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 08:54:49 on Tue,
22 Aug 2006, Dave remarked:
Otherwise I'm pretty sure you can buy a passholder's ticket in advance
and it is valid when you show your pass.

A pass, or a validated pass? They don't become "active" until stamped by
a UK ticket office, and he won't be in the UK until after his E* trip.

Hm. So a passholder discount doesn't work if starting from Paris?

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

In message , at 11:30:48 on
Tue, 22 Aug 2006, Hatunen remarked:
A pass, or a validated pass? They don't become "active" until stamped by
a UK ticket office, and he won't be in the UK until after his E* trip.

Hm. So a passholder discount doesn't work if starting from Paris?

I don't know. I think you are going to have to ask E*.
--
Roland Perry