hetismij2

The long awaited direct train service from London to Amsterdam starts on 4th April!
Tickets go on sale from February 2th, starting at 35GBP one-way.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...rvice-in-april

kerouac

I'm glad that they're finally doing it before the tunnel is plugged.

hetismij2

Going from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London you still have to go through passport control in Brussels it seems, as the Dutch and British governments still have to agree on passport controls in the Netherlands. They are working on it.
As a result the journey from London is only 3hours 41 minutes, but two London is nearly 5 hours.
Hopefully they will sort that out soon!

kerouac

The BBC says that the trips will be 17 minutes shorter. I would have hoped that there would be more time gained than that.

Apparently, customs control in Amsterdam before entering the UK is not expected until late 2019. I can imagine all of the haggling about "who's going to pay for the new installations?" especially in the middle of Brexit.

hetismij2

Well as I said it will be 3 hours 41 from London. Has to be better than flying. I do wish they'd sorted out the passport problem but I guess it's better to get the thing running now and hope someone manages to organise things. As you say Brexit isn't going to help any, and the way things are going with the plan to withdraw from the customs union it will take a lot longer to sort out, and be a low priority compared to dealing with Dover and other major ports. Ah well.

menachem

Last thing I heard (I'm in Rotterdam, so woohoo!) is that the special platform in Rotterdam still has to be built). A planning issue, not a political one.

PalenQ

Great! Probably have drug dogs awaiting Amsterdam trains in London (as Paris does with Thalys trains from Amsterdam). Book your own tickets at discounts at www.eurostar.com.

Man_in_seat_61

This is great news, long awaited. I've posted the actual timetable and details of how the check-in work, at https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-ro...-amsterdam.htm

London to Amsterdam is in a remarkable 3h41, although on the return you temporarily need to take Thalys to Brussels then Eurostar, When the Dutch agree formally to passport checks in Amsterdam & Rotterdam, Ams-London by direct train will take 4h09. The extra time is 28 min in Brussels to security-sweep the train after the Amsterdam-Brussels passengers have got off, before it heads towards the Channel Tunnel.

menachem

From local Rotterdam news sources, I gathered, that there is agreement on passport controls in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and that in Rotterdam work will shortly be underway to adapt a platform for passport control, and to widen it.

https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/15523...-voor-Eurostar

You'll need to google translate, but it's there. (searched some more: a special terminal platform should be ready in 2019)

Tulips

It will still be faster to fly Amsterdam-London, particularly if you go to City Airport.
Much as I like the train, From where I live in Belgium it's faster to fly to London than take the Eurostar, and that is for a door-to-door journey.
But the train is great if you're not in a hurry, and want to read or work while traveling.

Man_in_seat_61

Only faster by about 40 minutes, and then only if you don't mind taking a train then a plane then a train, and getting no work or reading done!

PalenQ

Planes more likely to be late too than these trains.

hetismij2

It will only be faster flying into City airport. I suspect the train will be cheaper and a more enjoyable experience. Certainly I would be more inclined to visit London by train than I have been by plane.

It is my understanding that in Amsterdam and Rotterdam they are busy with the construction work needed for passport control at the stations, but that the governments have not yet signed the agreement needed, so the construction work will be ready well ahead of the agreement.

Tulips

I travel between Belgium and London 10 times a year or more. It all depends on where you come from and exactly where you are going.
From Antwerp there is no question; flying from Antwerp to London City. Since I need to be in west London, flying Brussels Airport to LHR + Heathrow Express is also faster than train - always with handluggage only.

If I take a Eurostar from Brussel I need 2 hours to get to Brussel Midi on time by local train. They recommend check-in at least 45 minutes in advance for Eurostar.
Then 30 minutes from St Pancras to where I need to be in London. That is 4,5 to 5 hours by train (depending on local connection)
By car the same journey is usually 5 hours (4,5 hours minimum)
Flying from Antwerp: 3 hours from door to door

I've been delayed on the Eurostar as much as flying - but in the winter the train is more likely to be on time than a plane.
Train is not always cheaper, far from it at times.

For comfort, train beats flying, though.

PalenQ

For a tourist going once I think the train also lets them see the Europe in between Amsterdam, Brussels and London and experience both high-speed trains (over 180 mph atpoints) and the Channel Tunnel. But for folks like tulips flying obviously is better at times.

menachem

Riveting views of Dutch and Belgian motorways. Ikea stores. Box-warehouses. "Lets them see Europe"? I think not.

PalenQ

Well the eyes of a foreign tourist menchem can see quite a different site- sure there is a lot of commercial development and highways but also the constant farm fields surrounding all of that. I just love to see the canals and sluitjes (drainage ditches) - the dykes protecting the fields - little farmhouses - again these go for miles and yes often interrupted by developed areas in one of the world's densest countries - I just love to sit and see how just about every inch of land is used for something. Cows and sheep graze all over the polders - even on edge of cities where cows may be in fields adjoining high-rise apartment buildings.

Between Schiphol Airport and Leiden the train tracks thru the edge of the heart of the tulip fields and at certain times you may see pulchritudinously dazzling spectors.

And even going thru say Rotterdam is awesome - anyway I actually find Holland (this part of Netherlands) very cool - no other place in Europe except Belgium is like it.

Yes folks seeing that everyday may think it boring whilst foreign tourists may well not.

And Kent, the 'Garden of England' can be cute for foreigners too - again many farms and novel things like hops growing and conical oast houses to dry them in.

Again locals may thing ho-hum but the eyes of a foreign tourist can see things quite differently. At least to me but maybe not to others.

Tulips

There is no view of tulip fields between Amsterdam and Brussel.
Between Brussel and London the train goes through a ditch in many parts, where you see absolutely nothing.

PatrickLondon

If I hadn't taken the Thalys from Brussels to Amsterdam, I'd never have been able to guess why a duffel coat gets its name from - nor would I have seen the tower of

St. Rumbold

chartley

Certainly, the view from the Eurostar is nowhere near as interesting as the view from the middle seat on an Easyjet Airbus.