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Ecknerol
3rd January 2004, 10:11
Hello and best wishes for 2004.

This is a question that have been in my mind for a while. Has any of you ever tried to take the Eurostar (that's the train going through the channel tunnel beetween France and UK) with your swords (bokken, shinai, iaito or even shinken) ? Since there are no checked luggages that I know of, I always wondered wat would be te reaction of the security guy when the sword bag goes through the X Ray machine.

unwind-protect
7th January 2004, 15:07
I've taken the Eurostar from Paris to England, and back again with iaito, though I'm unlikely to do it again.

The official way to do it is to send it as freight. This will cost you ten pounds each way, and has the added disadvantage that you have to give it to them a day earlier for them to forward, and when you get to Paris, you search around for the left baggage place and, when you find it, show your reciept to the person, who looks around the bags for a minute then shrugs their shoulders. With time and patience (and French language skills, which was probably the real thing we were lacking), you might be able to indicate that yes, it's that long black one that you can't be bothered to check the label on!

Our Sensei, I believe, just turned up at Waterloo with his sword. Once they found out what it was, I believe they tried to make him send it as cargo and charge him for the privelige, saying "that's what they do on planes." I beleive Sensei told them to stop being silly, and eventually it was placed in a locker on the train, and he retrieved it at the end of the journey.

On the way back, we went straight to customer services and told them about the swords, and the station manager very kindly rushed us through the check in, put the swords in a locker again, and we ended up getting an earlier train than the one we had booked. Which was nice. But's it's hardly a reliable way to travel.

Ecknerol
7th January 2004, 15:43
Many thanks Neil.

Andy Watson
8th January 2004, 12:06
While I don't have any experience in this, some of our students have. The first experience was as Neil tell's it i.e. having to send it a day earlier. This year however it seems that you can put things on the same freight carriage as the train you are travelling on.

Rachel, any comments?

Rachel
14th January 2004, 08:41
Hello Neil,

My sempai has suggested I reply to this - even if it saves some other Budo friends, grief.

Ah Yes, Eurostar - UK END (there's a difference !!! no funnies please).

UK end you will ALWAYS have a problem getting on at Waterloo with anything remotely sounding like 'weapon' (not your definition but theirs) and even the ubiqutous "bokuto" (bokken)...you MAY get away with a Jo (wooden staff)... Shinai tend to be "mixed" from what I've heard, I have been OK, one time, not OK another (trust me, no consistency, and don't even argue a "but last time..."

UK will make you do a tortuous walk the other side of the building to 'cargo' - and charge you for it (so if you're tight for time or got stuck in the queue, you're get very stressed when they tell you this just as you get to the gate). If the gentleman who persuaded the guard's carriage to take his weapon managed to do it for 'free' then he's lucky.

>just turned up at Waterloo with his sword

A big no no - anyone with any sense since 9/11 would know this is huge gamble ! Personally gobsmacked to hear that. :confused:

Don't believe what UK customer services tell you either - its those guys at 'gates/security' who say "yeah/ney"... this goes for things like naginata too (not easy to hide), so don't think wood or blunt-ness will help. Even archery arrows got taken off one friend (coz they had sharp points). Definition "Weapon" (screams Danger)

Believe it or not - the FRENCH & BELGIAN sides, don't care - or rather, are far more lax (but then wot do they care wot goes "into" UK ?!). I even get asked "what's this/that" (or Qu' est que ce la ?) - be honest, and you get a reaction of "wow - allez" (go !) I have never experienced any problems coming back to UK.

So leaving UK (to seminar I guess) find generous friends who are going by car or plane, & get them to take your stuff on the way out. Return journey, gladly take your offending weapon back, and waltz into Eurostar Waterloo with your gear under arm !! Otherwise, my friend budget for it taken off you, at the princely sum of anything £15 upwards...(and an extra 20 minutes to do this too)

Good Luck !
:)

unwind-protect
14th January 2004, 09:57
>If the gentleman who persuaded the guard's carriage
>to take his weapon managed to do it for 'free' then
>he's lucky.

Must admit that I'm not 100% sure about this... Believe he had manager's involved. Possibly the concession was it went on this train, rather than the next one.

>just turned up at Waterloo with his sword

>A big no no - anyone with any sense since 9/11 would know this is >huge gamble ! Personally gobsmacked to hear that.

Why? I often travel on trains with a sword. No problem. Travel on planes with them, no excess to pay, just show up with it, and it goes as hold baggage. If Eurostar want my custom, then they need to be at least as efficient.

But thanks for your feedback :-).

Andy Watson
14th January 2004, 10:18
Neil

I think Rachel's point is that there is no hold baggage per se on Eurostar, there is hand baggage and cargo.

N'est pa?

Rachel
14th January 2004, 13:24
Thanks Andy, Yeah !

>often travel on trains with a sword

...to foreign countries FROM UK (with customs/security) ?! (another debate, Britain is an island ! are we Europe... ?) Were you asking (or not) about International rail, not a country's national rail ?!

>Eurostar want my custom, then they need to be at least as efficient.

Fight away, the disparity is the UK end, compared to France & Belgium Eurostar.

>hold baggage

Yes - and Eurostar's hold baggage is chargable.

End of my advice on this one.