Cheaper rail tickets outside Belgium?
 

I am traveling from Brussels to Amsterdam with my 8 yr. old son next week and think we would need a Kid and Co pass for $26(Thalys Summer Special). What is ABS? Do I need to buy in advance out of Europe? How much if I buy on site since I am not sure about our itinerary at this point? Thanks.

smallgrass62,

For travel from Brussels to Amsterdam, the Thalys makes no sense, because it doesn't go any faster on that route. Just hop on one of the hourly "intercity" (IC) trains. No reservations or advance purchase required and fares are cheaper than Thalys.

A one way trip costs EUR 32.40 for an adult and only EUR 4.- (!) for a child aged 6-11. There are also cheap adult return fares

oops... clicked the post button too fast!

There are also cheap return adult fares available if you are going to Amsterdam just for the day or on a weekend - ask at the station when you purchase your ticket.

Schedules are available at:
http://plannerint.b-rail.be/bin/query.exe/en?L=b-rail

BTW, I have no clue what context ABS is mentioned in - could you give me the whole sentence?

Hope this helps,
Andre

Sorry - I see that the Thalys is actually a bit cheaper than the IC train in your case - indeed, your child is entitled to the 9 EUR "Kid" fare, whereas you are entitled to the "Kid and Co" fare of EUR 20,50. So, a total

You can book these tickets with the Belgian Railways and pick them up at any station in Belgium.

Here's the direct link to the booking engine:
http://nsint.b-rail.be/bene/servlet/...IL&DIST=BS

For some reason, the initial fare only shows the fare of EUR 20.50, so not including the child's

As far as I can see, these tickets are not capacity-controlled, so you should also be able to simply purchase them at the train station in Brussels, provided the train you want isn't full.

Hope this helps,
Andre

What is wrong with me today? :-)

There's a half-finished sentence in my post. It should read:

For some reason, the initial fare selection screen only shows the fare of EUR 20.50, so not including the child's price of 9 EUR, but the next step (after registration correctly displays the EUR 29.50 total.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Post nr 4...

It just hit me what ABS stands for: it's "Any Belgian Station". That option includes the journey from any Belgian station to Brussels and the onward portion to Amsterdam, so you don't need this. Since I generally use the french language version of the system, I didn't see what you meant - the abbreviation in French is TGB (Toutes Gares Belges).

One final note: since the Thalys only stops at the Midi/Zuid station in Brussels and not at the Centraal and Nord stations, which are served by the normal IC trains, it might still be easier and more cost effective to take the latter, depending on where you'll be staying in Brussels.

Hope this helps,
Andre