The technology at St Pancras International Station aims to reduce congestion and queues. The company claimed that longer wait times for processing passengers at the station were caused by increased post-Brexit inspections on French border agents.
The system is accessible to Business Premier and Carte Blanche travelers. Passengers must use the app to authenticate their faces and tickets before boarding by scanning their ID cards.
A Facial verification system
If the new technology is effective, Eurostar said it would like to make it available to more consumers in the future—a first for UK rail travel.
Heathrow Airport Facial verification system began testing facial biometric scanners in 2019, but the project was halted when passenger numbers collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The technology at St Pancras International Station aims to reduce congestion and queues.
- Passengers must scan their ID cards and verify their face and ticket using the app.
- Security personnel still scan bags, and passports are also checked by French border officials.
The business added that even while the SmartCheck technology, which is only utilized at St. Pancras, could be expanded throughout more of continental Europe using the Eurostar network.
The company’s CEO, Gwendoline Cazenave, stated: “We continue to seek for alternatives to improve the station’s capacity and streamline passenger movements. Bags are still scanned by security officers, and French border guards still look at passports.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Eurostar had to leave hundreds of seats empty on London trains to avoid long queues at stations. The situation has since improved, but some services do not have dozens of outlets.
