Eurostar 08:31 problem - solved

Last week, on the very day that Jan, Feb and March French trains opened for booking, I wrote a blog about a problem being caused by a Eurostar 'ghost train'.

This mysterious-sounding entity was the 08:31 Eurostar. The train appeared on booking systems as 'not

available' because it couldn't actually be booked. Like something out of the film 'Brazil' or a Monty Python sketch, this administrative oversight caused relative havoc.

This non-bookable Eurostar confused the algorithms of all the rail-booking websites (and it doesn't take much to do that!). This meant that the most convenient journeys couldn't be booked easily online.

I reported this to Eurostar, who to their credit investigated and promised that the problem would be solved. As if by magic, the 08:31 Eurostar to Paris is now on sale (on some dates it departs at 08:16).

It's good to see this additional service running, adding much needed capacity. However, between last week and now, you might have already made a Eurostar + TGV booking, using earlier or later Eurostar departures with connections that perhaps weren't as convenient as could have been.

If that's the case, remember that these days you can rebook your Eurostar and your TGV at no extra charge.  You pay only the difference in fare if the new fare is higher.

This is how to do it for your Eurostar ticket:
https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-safe-with-eurostar/flexible-bookings

This is how to do it for your TGV:
https://www.sncf.com/en/itinerary-booking/exchanges-cancellations

Personally, I've never tried changing a booking myself (they only brought this feature in relatively recently) But I presume that it's fairly straightforward to do so.

It's annoying that Eurostar messed up the booking system in the first place. Did nobody at Eurostar just look at Eurostar's own website, see the unbookable train, and wonder whether it might be causing a problem when combined with other trains to the Alps and other parts of Europe?  Checking these things just takes a couple of minutes and a concientious - or at least curious - attitude.

Curiosity Killed The Cat is an 80s band name, not a thing that actually happened. The cat is very much alive (and living in Tonbridge Wells, apparently). Eurostar - please learn from this.

Anyway, I hope this email has proved reassuring or useful to at least some of you reading it,

Best wishes,
Daniel Elkan
Snowcarbon Founder