A British wheelchair user who had booked assistance to disembark at Brussels on a Eurostar service found himself taken to Rotterdam after staff at the Belgian stop were not available to help him, the passenger said.
Orlando Cardozo, 24, told reporters he had asked for assistance to get off the train in Brussels, but when the service stopped he could not find anyone to meet him. He said he went to seek a ticket collector to request a ramp, but the train began moving again and continued to the Netherlands before he could be helped.
Cardozo said the train was stopped at Brussels for about five minutes. He told the Daily Mail that a ticket collector said he could not fetch a ramp and that he would speak to the train manager, but the service departed before assistance could be arranged. When the train reached Rotterdam, Cardozo spoke with the train manager and staff organised a return service to Brussels free of charge.
He spent about half an hour in Rotterdam before leaving and arrived in Brussels in time for a wedding he was attending, according to his account. The rail journey from Rotterdam to Brussels takes roughly an hour.
Cardozo, who has Friedreich's ataxia, a degenerative genetic condition that affects nerve transmission and causes muscle deterioration, began using a wheelchair at age 16 as his condition progressed. He described the incident as a mistake rather than deliberate neglect and said Eurostar staff were "very nice about the whole thing," but added he had not been offered compensation.
Eurostar operates cross-border services involving staff and assistance arrangements in multiple jurisdictions; when assistance is booked in advance, on-board staff or station teams are typically required to meet passengers at the arrival station to provide ramps or other help. Cardozo said he had arranged such assistance for Brussels before boarding.
The account was published by the Daily Mail, which reported that it had approached Eurostar for comment. The company had not provided a public statement in the coverage of Cardozo's account.
The incident highlights the coordination required for assisted travel on international rail services, where responsibilities for station and on-board staff can vary between countries. Cardozo said he did not wish to be overly critical and that he appreciated the subsequent help that allowed him to reach his destination.