At the end of August my partner and I went on a cycling holiday in France with our folding e-bikes. We travelled by Eurostar and had no problems on the way out.
However, on the return journey we were stopped by security at Paris Gare du Nord and told our batteries would not be allowed on the train as “they were at risk of exploding”.
We are in our early 70s and before I booked I read the Eurostar guidance on e-bikes carefully. They are allowed, providing they are bagged and conform with size requirements, which ours did.
We could not get the security staff to change their minds so stowed the batteries in left luggage to avoid confiscation.
We missed our train, but were provided with a ticket for a later one, however that did not make our connection to Somerset.
The batteries are worth more than £1,000, so I complained to Eurostar and tried to get it to arrange for them to be transported to St Pancras for us to collect.
It told me to raise a complaint with SNCF, the French national railway company. However, it told me that security at the station is not its responsibility.
After several weeks of calls and emails it reached the point where we felt we had no choice but to travel back to Paris (by car and ferry) to retrieve the batteries.
I want Eurostar to reimburse us for all the expenses incurred – nearly £1,000 – because of this mistake, and to change the advice on its website.
I would never have considered travelling with our e-bikes if I had known there was a risk of confiscation.
CS, Bridgwater
With e-bikes an increasingly popular mode of transport, it is concerning to hear reports like this. I contacted Eurostar and it has apologised and offered to fully refund the extra costs you incurred.
“Foldable e-bikes and their batteries are permitted on our services,” it says. “Unfortunately, an error occurred in this instance, and we sincerely regret the difficulties it caused. We are addressing this with the security provider at Paris Gare du Nord to ensure all contracted staff are fully aligned with our policies on restricted and prohibited items.”
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