People travelling regularly between Brussels and London by Eurostar will be familiar with the Channel Terminal, which at best is an unpleasant, crammed waiting space.
But soon, the Belgian international train station will be undergoing a major renovation.
Every year, around 2.2 million passengers travelling from Brussels-Midi to St Pancras station have to pass through the Channel Terminal, where they go through additional security as it forms the lock between the Schengen zone and the United Kingdom.
While part of the space was renovated several years ago, bringing the arrival of a duty-free store, the waiting space consists of seating (too little) and not much more. Now, the second phase of the works will soon begin to give the terminal a complete face-lift of sorts.
The number of seats will double to 600, sanitary facilities and lighting will be improved and catering facilities such as fast-food cafes covering an additional 200 square metres will be added, the French-language newspaper L'Echo reported on Thursday, based on information from railway company SNCB.
In May, the work to begin to install the post-Brexit EU Entry/Exit System (EES) will begin. This automated IT system uses a facial recognition system to check and register all passengers from third countries who travel to and from the European Union.
The system also records refusals of entry. This system will also soon enter into force in the London terminal, but concerns have been raised here that the facilities at St Pancras are "inadequate" to process these new checks, especially due to space constraints.
From several sides, there have been warnings that this could result in hour-long queues.
