Eurostar implements facial recognition for Paris passengers

 Eurostar has installed electronic passport gates with facial recognition technology for passengers travelling from Paris a year after the same technology was introduced at the London end.

A Eurostar train at the Paris Gare du Nord train station Reuters/Stephane Mahe

"If you're travelling from Paris today, try our brand new e-gates," the company tweeted Wednesday.

Passengers with biometric passports scan the document at a first gate and then proceed to a second gate where a camera compares their features with their passport picture before allowing them through to the departure lounge.

Over half a million passengers have used the e-gates at St Pancras station in London since they were installed in mid-2016.

After Gare du Nord in Paris, Eurostar also plans to roll out the technology, in use in a growing number of airports, to Brussels Midi station.