Forget train cab – the vibe is bridge-of-the-Starship-Enterprise.
I’m standing behind veteran driver Dominic Bampton as he eases a 21,000-horse-power Eurostar out of St Pancras International for a morning service to Paris Gare du Nord.
Dom sits Captain Picard-like in front of a bank of levers, switches and computer screens and a colossal sloping windscreen. We move so smoothly and quietly it’s as if we’re gliding out of a starport.
Something else strikes me – the sheer size of the space. There’s enough room for the driver and six guests – and with coffee-cup holders, charging points and two fold-down seats, it’s a surprisingly comfortable and civilised place to be.
Before joining affable and chatty Dom in the cab, I watch him wash the windscreen with a long-handled mop. But as he pushes the acceleration lever forward and applies 40 per cent power to take the e320 – named for its maximum speed of 320kph (200mph) – out of the station towards Kent, it’s explained by Dom’s manager, Alan Pears, who joins us for the journey, that good visibility isn’t strictly necessary.
And Alan knows a thing or two about high-speed trains. He happens to be the UK’s fastest train driver, having taken the older 14,000hp e300 class of Eurostar to 208mph during a record-breaking test run along the newly built high-speed line in Kent in 2003.
He says: ‘We could drive this thing with the blind down. We don’t need to look out of the window.’
Concerned? Don’t be.
Ted Thornhill rides in the cab of a Eurostar e320 from London St Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord. Pictured above is veteran driver Dominic Bampton at the controls, with the train travelling here at about 175mph (280kph)
Ted is pictured above in the cab at Paris Gare du Nord
The e320 is named for its maximum speed of 320kph (200mph). They have 21,000hp – so powerful that how full they are makes imperceptible differences to acceleration and has no bearing on maximum speeds
Eurostars can be safely driven at maximum speed in all levels of visibility – even the thickest of fog – because save for a few miles of track with coloured signals at the start and end of the journey, they’re guided by ‘in-cab signalling’, which automatically displays the maximum permitted speed on one of the central screens, the information coming from a system embedded in the tracks.
There are also human beings monitoring the services, of course – and should the driver fail to adhere to a lower speed limit, the brakes will be automatically applied by the train’s computer until the driver complies.
TGVs and Southeastern’s 140mph Javelin have the same system.
Rather than a red light, the instruction to bring the train to a halt is communicated by three zeroes appearing. The driver is then required to pull up at one of the yellow flag markers that appear every 1,500 metres by the side of the track.
There are no hold-ups for us, though, with the speed limit rising to 230kph (140mph) as we fly past Stratford International – and we hurtle across the Medway Viaduct at close to our maximum operating speed of 300kph (186mph).
Eurostars can travel at this speed for just seven minutes in the UK – but it’s seven minutes that are especially thrilling when you have a driver’s eye view.
Before we reach the tunnel there’s a slightly startling thud as we hit a poor pheasant at full tilt.
Dom explains that, unfortunately, animals, especially birds, hitting the train is quite a regular occurrence, though the problem is mitigated in France by hunters (chasseur), employed to patrol the fields by the line and shoot boar or deer before they have a chance to dash in front of a train and cause serious damage.
The first job for driver Dom at St Pancras is to wash the windscreen
Hurtling across the Medway Viaduct at close to the maximum operating speed of 300kph (186mph)
That light at the end of the tunnel is France. The maximum speed for Eurostars in the tunnel is 160kph (100mph)
The top speed in the Channel Tunnel falls to 160kph (100mph), with the Eurostars sharing the line with slower Eurotunnel LeShuttle trains and freight trains for the 21 minutes that it takes to reach France.
The entrance on the UK side is rectangular, which doesn’t please Dom, who points out that the French entrance is round. ‘A proper tunnel,’ he remarks.
Once we’re inside, the drivers unveil fascinating Channel Tunnel insights.
Dom explains the scale of the tunnel, likening it to McDonald’s straws being laid end to end under the tiles of an Olympic-sized 50-metre swimming pool. The train, he says, is like a grain of rice travelling along the straws.
Alan is keen to point out that the tunnel leaks – by design.
If it didn’t, he says, the water pressure from above would destroy it.
Ted discovers that Eurostar drivers do their best to run under the line-speed limits to save on wear and tear and to help keep the ride as smooth as possible for passengers. They even let the train coast for long periods
This leaking water, he explains, comes from the surrounding rock and is trapped in three places. ‘Massive pumps get rid of it,’ he continues.
Once we emerge in France, it’s fast-running to Lille, where the speed limit drops to 200kph (125mph) as we pass through the station.
Then it’s back up to 300kph, in theory. Except I notice that we never quite reach it.
Why is this?
It’s certainly not because of passenger load.
I’m told that e320s are so powerful how full they are makes imperceptible differences to acceleration and has no bearing on maximum speeds.
Alan explains they often run just below speed limits to save electricity, to lessen wear and tear on the train – and to help keep the ride as smooth as possible for the passengers.
The drivers are given a helping hand with travelling at the optimum speed by an onboard computer, which advises how slowly they can go and still be on time.
(And should they wish, they can use the e320’s ‘cruise control’ system to keep the train’s speed constant, though Alan reveals he doesn’t like using it.)
We spend much of the time travelling at 275kph (170mph) along the 300kph stretches – which incidentally are ‘good for 350kph’, according to Alan – simply because we don’t need to travel any faster to be punctual.
The drivers also let the train coast for long periods of time, which extends the life of the pantograph (the rooftop device that draws power from the overhead lines) and the brakes, and decelerates the train more smoothly and gradually.
Joining Ted and Dom in the cab is driver manager Alan Pears. He’s the UK’s fastest train driver, having taken the older 14,000hp e300 class of Eurostar to 208mph during a record-breaking test run along the newly built high-speed line in Kent in 2003. Alan is pictured here bringing the train into Gare du Nord
Dom prepares to set off from Gare du Nord on the return service
We briefly ‘race’ a local service on the line out of Gare du Nord
I’m given the privilege of riding in the cab with Dom and Alan on a return service to St Pancras – bagging two ‘train rides of a lifetime’ in one day.
We ‘race’ a local commuter train on the 160kph (100mph) section out of Gare du Nord before ramping up the kph towards Lille, discovering amid the gloaming that high-speed train drivers dip their headlights as trains pass in the opposite direction, just as cars do on country roads.
This is a safety precaution to make sure drivers aren’t momentarily dazzled – the headlights on the Eurostar and TGVs are surprisingly powerful.
The driver’s-eye view of the entrance to the Channel Tunnel on the French side. Dom tells Ted that he likes this design as it’s a ‘proper’ round entrance, unlike the rectangular one on the UK side
Dom explains the scale of the tunnel, likening it to McDonald’s straws being laid end to end under the tiles of an Olympic-sized 50-metre swimming pool. The train, he says, is like a grain of rice travelling along the straws. Alan is keen to point out that the tunnel leaks – by design. If it didn’t, he says, the water pressure from above would destroy it. LEFT and RIGHT: Emerging from the tunnel into England
Dom brings the train into London St Pancras – bang on time
Driver manager Alan Pears (left) and Dominic Bampton after returning MailOnline to St Pancras
We roll into the ‘proper’ round entrance to the Channel Tunnel at 100mph and emerge at the other end into a glorious sunset, the edges of the tunnel mesmerisingly aglow. A view unique to drivers (and secret agents fighting on the roof).
The speedometer needle sits just under the 300kph (186mph) mark as we race towards the capital – bang on time.
Great for the passengers, but I’m half praying for a hold-up just so I can stay a little bit longer in this, Eurostar’s ultimate class – cab class.
Even Picard would be impressed.
For more visit www.eurostar.com/uk-en.
Eurostars can be safely driven at maximum speed in all levels of visibility – even the thickest of fog – because save for a few miles of track with coloured signals at the start and end of the journey, they’re guided by ‘in-cab signalling’, which automatically displays the maximum permitted speed on one of the central screens (centre left)
