I’m a Eurostar train driver – here’s the secret behind the ‘ticking’ door noise
TRAINS are extremely complicated machines, which means they often come with hidden features that go unnoticed by the untrained eye.
And the doors on Eurostar trains are no exception, as they often make a strange “ticking” noise when passengers are boarding.
In a video posted on X, formally known as Twitter, Blake who is an international train manager for Eurostar explained why some doors make this sound.
He wrote: “[Have you] ever got on one of our trains and thought, what is that mysterious ticking noise?
“Our newer e320 trains have a speaker by the door that emits a sound to assist visually impaired persons in finding the door and its control buttons once it’s available to be opened.”
The footage showed a small circular speaker to the right of the train door.
The speaker, which was placed just underneath the International Wheelchair Symbol, played a rhythmic ticking sound throughout the video.
In the comments, several users described the train feature as “cool” and “clever”.
Meanwhile, another person thought the noise was used to “keep people moving and not hanging around when boarding.”
Earlier this year, Eurostar introduced a facial verification system, so passengers could avoid having their ticket and passports manually checked by staff.
The launch of the technology at St Pancras station was aimed at easing congestion at the station.
Before arriving at the station, passengers must use an app to scan their identity document, which will then verify their face and ticket.
While the SmartCheck system, developed by iProov, is only available to Business Premier and Carte Blanche passengers, it hopes to ease the long waits for all other passengers as well.
Tickets from London to Paris and London to Amsterdam start from £39 per person.
Brit holidaymakers can also use the Eurostar services to board connecting trains in Europe.
In cities like Brussels, train passengers from the UK can board sleeper trains that will take them to destinations like Prague without needing to fly.
There are also plenty of great train routes in the UK too, including one that offers front-row seats to some of the most spectacular views in the UK.
The east coast mainline route stretches from London Kings Cross to Inverness in Scotland.
While the best stretch of views is from Durham to Edinburgh, there are other highlights further south, including landmarks like Alexandra Palace.
For the best views, nab a window seat on the right of the train, facing out to the east.
Meanwhile, this unique autumn train journey has both light displays and a live DJ set.
And you can ride a London tube train with sea views on this British island.