The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today expressed his concern about the “terrible signal” that would be sent to the world about the “chaos” that could be unleashed at St Pancras station, where the Eurostar arrives, when a new ticket control system comes into force. entries and exits from the European Union.
Third-country nationals entering the European Union will be subject from the end of 2024 to an automated entry and exit control system (Entry /Exit System, EES).
This central database will include in particular the traveller's facial photographs and digital fingerprints.
Last month a British parliamentary committee warned of significant delays, up to 14 hours according to its members, which the EES system could cause at the border.
And particularly at London St Pancras railway station, where Eurostar trains arrive, an essential rail link to the British capital.
“As things currently stand, these new controls in the post-Brexit era will cause chaos at St Pancras, with reduced services and potentially huge queues for passengers at peak times,” he worried today in a bulletin. press, the Labor mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
He called on the government to “not wash its hands” of this “immediate consequence of Brexit”, which would send “a terrible signal to tourists and businesses around the world”, at a time when the British economy is barely recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The train company Eurostar, as well as High Speed 1 (HS1), the company that operates the rail line, which connects London to the entrance to the Channel Tunnel , have also expressed concern.
Eurostar believes the new system was originally designed for airports rather than terminals located in train stations.
The Mayor of London reckons the St Pancras railway station will have just 24 EES control desks, which will be made available by the French government, “while models suggest almost 50 will be needed at peak times”.
“Ministers must therefore to give HS1 and Eurostar all the support they need to resolve these issues as a matter of urgency. Service reductions and longer delays are simply not an option,” insisted Sadiq Khan.
source: CNN Greece
