The Department for Transport (DfT) is backing a project to install biometric entry corridors for the Eurostar to enable contactless and socially-distanced travel.

The project, which will use technology from iProov, will enable Eurostar passengers to pass through a facial biometric corridor to enable contactless journeys. It is planned to be in live operation by March 2021.

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, thus reducing transmission risk for diseases including COVID-19.

The concept, already trialled in airports to increase speed and safety and manage immigration, is now being brought to train travel as part of the First of a Kind (FOAK) competition run by Innovate UK and funded by the Department for Transport.

Under the system, passengers planning to travel on Eurostar services would be offered an accelerated pre-boarding option.

Prior to travelling, they would use the Eurostar app to scan their identity documentation before 'iProoving' themselves. The facial biometric check uses patented controlled illumination to authenticate the identity of the user against the ID document.

As well as checking that the user is the right person, matching the identity portrayed in the passport, the illumination process checks that the user is a real person, rather than a photo, video, or mask, and, uniquely, that the user is authenticating right now. This protects against large-scale criminal attacks using deep fakes.

The passenger would then receive a message confirming that their identity document had been secured and a ticket or passport would not need to be shown again until they reached their destination.

On arrival at St Pancras International, the passenger would enter the contactless travel corridor and proceed in distanced fashion before boarding the train.

Andrew Bud, founder and chief executive at iProov, said: “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.”

The iProov solution will be developed in close partnership with Eurostar, the UK’s only operator of high-speed rail services, and with Canadian travel and immigration solution specialists WorldReach Software.

Gareth Williams, strategy director and company secretary at Eurostar, said: "We are very pleased to be working with iProov on this important innovation - we’re convinced it will enhance our passenger experience and offer a live illustration of how innovation can benefit the high-speed rail and international transport industries."

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