Eurostar to soon introduce face scanners that’ll allow passengers to travel passport-free between the United Kingdom, France and Belgium, and the Netherlands. By Tanvi Jain
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Travelling via Eurostar to soon become passport-free as the cross-channel rail operator is likely to launch face scanners by March 2021. It will be the first operator to provide this service for travel between the United Kingdom, France and Belgium, and the Netherlands.
If you choose the pre-boarding option of Eurostar, which is called the face recognition option, you will have to preload a selfie and an image of your passport. Then, upon arrival at Eurostar’s London Terminus – St Pancras Station – the system will scan your face and compare it to the one in the passport and then collate it with the ticket details. Moreover, in case you don’t have a smartphone, you can use the kiosk installed at the terminus for the same.
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This system which is the brainchild of a British company called iProov, will not only help reduce queues at the station but will also speed up the boarding process. “iProov to provide contactless travel entry for @EurostarUK as part of a railway innovation initiative with @transportgovuk and @innovateuk,” the company tweeted.
“The walk-through system will allow customers to complete ticket checks and border exit processes at St Pancras International station without needing to come into contact with people or hardware,” it said on its official website.
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“This is a world first. iProov is enabling train passengers to choose to travel without tickets or documentation in a way that is safe and secure. What started off as a project to reduce travel congestion and keep passengers moving is now going to help keep people safe in a pandemic world through social distancing and contactless interaction. It’s yet another example of how opt-in facial verification is making life easier and safer for people around the world,” iProov Founder and CEO Andrew Bud said in a press release issued by the company.
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