Again in 2007 like they did in 2006 RailEurope has announced a 50% off full fare Thalys (Paris-Amsterdam/Cologne routes only) sale. www.raileurope.com - but check always www.thalys.com for even cheaper fares perhaps. Check both always.

note that ABS All Belgian Station fares do not apply on the special, nor are they refundable or changeable.

Thalys tickets bought in US at least come with an ABS fare where within 48 hours of your Thalys train you can go to or come from any station in Belgium to the Thalys train free. Same for Eurostar trains from London. not sure if this is the case at www.thalys.com but i think you can pay a few more euros for the ABS option there. not sure.

I hope this isn't an ad! Did you ditch your stock in Thalys before you posted this?

(Thanks for the heads up; am sure it might benefit someone.)

as far as i know Thalys is wholly owned subsidiary of the sncf (French railways) and Belgian and Dutch railways) German rail, DB wanted to buy in recently but was rebuffed by sncf i guess. If they did offer stock in any of these state-owned railways i would never touch it as they perennially run huge deficits i believe - at least the French do and that's fine as a public utility

Yes, but Pal if you owned stock then they let you ride in the VERY front and trust me, that's a thrill you'd never forget!!!

Coach K - got any stock to unload for Thalys? i need some desperately

Two "dumb" question:

Are the prices on RailEurope in dollars or Euros? An unretricted fare from Brussels to Paris is 78E on the SNCF site. The price for a restricted fare on RailEurope is 60. An extra 18E for a refundable/exchangeable fare seems like a good deal to me. A $40 ($80 for the two of us) might make me think differently.

I've never purchased Thalys tickets before. I noticed that there are no PREM type fares like there are on the TGV. My trip on the Thalys is in August, but I'll be in France the entire month of June. Can I get the 78E fare at any SCNF office, or are they only internet fares (or somethink like that)?

Thanks

Stu Dudley

The prices on Rail Europe are dollars.

Also note that from now to 25/05/07 at 06:00 Thalys is having their Red Day May sale. Tickets between Belgium & Paris are 29 EUR for cl. 1 for travel from 2/6/07 - 1/7/07, Sat. or Sun. only.

Thanks for the heads up PalQ! I just purchased my cl. 1 BRU - PAR tix for 29 EUR each for 4 Adults & 2 kids!

Also note that the Rail Europe sale excludes any route going to or from Germany.

yes indeed - no Cologne.

tickets must be booked by Aug 15 - travel allowed June 1-Aug 31, 2007 only.

RailEurope: "normal one-way Paris-Brussels fare $204 (1st cl) $131 (2nd cl) at 50% off will be $102 and $66
respectively.

Par-Amsterdam: normal $272 1st, $170 2nd - 50% off $136 and $85 respectively

At these even 50% off prices i would first look at www.thalys.com and then consider RE only if near the same price or better for the exact trains you want to take. And Re does not say how many tickets are 50% off - all they sell or an allotment? And RE tacks on a $18 handling fee and $15 mailing fee for orders under $399. (For any RE product i always recommend BETS 800-441-2387) for their expertise and lower fees than RE - free shipping except for rush orders. And check www.voyages-sncf.com - French rail web site for further Thalys specials.
But to just show up in Europe and buy ticket you may have to pay top dollar as Thalys trains are very popular and have knocked all airlines off the Paris-Brussels routes and airlines are putting their passengers on Thalys trains (according to RE)