Eurostar to Amsterdam

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Rail Technology Magazine

The first ever direct Eurostar service from London to Amsterdam left London St Pancras International today, marking a landmark moment for rail travel between the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) and mainland Europe.

A service left at 08.31 this morning, and will take just over three hours to get to Rotterdam, and three hours 40 minutes to get to Amsterdam.

Eurostar has said it hopes the start of commercial services on 4 April will provide a viable alternatives to air travel, with one-way tickets starting at £35.

Nicolas Petrovic, chief executive of Eurostar, stated: “Today’s inaugural service heralds an exciting new chapter in the expansion of high speed rail, strengthening the trading and tourism links between the UK and mainland Europe.

“With just six weeks to go until the start of service we are looking forward to providing customers with a fast, comfortable connection from London to Amsterdam and transforming travel between these important capital cities.”

When commercial services get going, two trains a day will leave from St Pancras, at 08.31 in the morning and then at 17.31.

The new service will also cut down on times to Belgium by about 17 minutes, down to a journey time of one hour 48.

[patch38]

Didn't I read somewhere that, on the return leg, you have to stop/change at Brussels Midi for immigration checks? That's a bit of a pain if it's true.

[grahame]

Didn't I read somewhere that, on the return leg, you have to stop/change at Brussels Midi for immigration checks? That's a bit of a pain if it's true.

Comments on the article suggests that to be the case:

Ah, but the press release didn't mention the extra hour for the return journey because the border controls haven't got their act together.

Correct: These are also only the launch timings; they will change again at a later date once the full border check services are in place.

[Worcester_Passenger]

That's why the headline says "Eurostar to Amsterdam".

"Eurostar from Amsterdam" is a completely different matter - it's a Thalys from Amsterdam to Brussels, and then a maddening delay.

[didcotdean]

Eurostar originally had the idea that they would get everyone off the train at Brussels, circulate them through passport control and security and get them back on the same train. Eurostar and NS only themselves came to an agreement in principle to clear people in Amsterdam and Rotterdam instead in 2016 but this requires a new inter governmental treaty to be signed between four governments, which always takes time.

A letter from the Dutch government department detailing this is here (in Dutch).

EDIT - looks like tickets won't now go on sale until Thursday.

[trainer]

In Brussels Midi/Zuid the Eurostar terminal is being equipped with an area marked 'Platform 3' for the Amsterdam service. On 22nd Feb 2018 the building work appeared to be near completion.