The Eurostar is unique in terms of high speed rail in that it has any sort of security check, to the best of my knowledge. Anywhere else, even for international

The Eurostar is unique in terms of high speed rail in that it has any sort of security check, to the best of my knowledge. Anywhere else, even for international journeys, you merely turn up for the time the train is due to depart, as with any other train service. (In the Eurostar's defence, given a highest class ticket, you merely have to pass through the automated check-in gates ten minutes prior to arrival, and half an hour is the furthest deadline, for the lowest class tickets. I'm unaware of any major airport that expects you to be able to get from check-in to the gate in half an hour.) Regardless, the Eurostar security is utter nonsense anyway — especially given you're allowed to take almost everything onboard! It makes a whole load of hassle for nothing. At least at airports they're actively stopping you from taking a fair amount of stuff… It seems like the right solution here is to drop the security, rather than anything more drastic! [Edit: oh, looking this up, they appear to have changed this. They now have most of the same restrictions as air flights do.]