Belgium is a lovely place with many excellent features, but consistent opening times is not one of them. In Brussels in particular things can often be harder than they need to be for no obvious reason.
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I will never do a 20 min Eurostar - ICE change at Brussels Midi again
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Belgium is a lovely place with many excellent features, but consistent opening times is not one of them. In Brussels in particular things can often be harder than they need to be for no obvious reason.
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SephenWorceste
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I love that term Security Theatre. I suppose it might act as a bit of a deterrent but does really stop anybody. I would be interested to know if it is closed on Monday. I hope it is not permenant.
SephenWorceste
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I have not spent much time in Belgium. A weekend in Bruge thirty plus years back. Including a return on the Hull to Zebrugge ferry. My recent experience has been the Brussels Midi and chocolates. I must spend time there and not just pass through.
Best wishes, Stephen.
AlexNL
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According to the man in Seat 61 the "couloir sud" tunnel is usually open, but is closed when there's extra checks for Thalys and ICE.
If you're arriving in Brussels and are dependant on a connecting international train (ICE, Thalys), it might be worth to contact the train manager in the case of late running. They might be able to phone ahead to Brussels and get the connecting train to wait for a few minutes, as rebooking you onto a different train or having to pay an overnight accommodation is generally seen as unfavourable by the railways. It costs them money, after all.
LeylandLen
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Connection times can be a bit misleading anyway, wether its in UK or Brussels , esp if having to slowly walk with luggage from the back of a full 11 car Pendelino from Scotland at Euston or an 18 car Eurostar in Paris/Brussels.Can take 'ages' to pass through ticket barriers and find your way in a station you are not familar with off the Eurostar , or joining the crowds wanting the tube at Euston. for me going to Waterloo.Delays can be down to amount of people , yes I know I add to the 'problem' !Same at some airports if lots of people take time to pass through security, then the long walk aircraft side from check in to departure gate ...anyway thats my rant over !
On the occasions my Eurostar arrival has missed the ICE connection I've always been accomodated on the following Thalys service rather than being routed via the Beligian IC route. There is always an argument however over the reaccomodation, Thalys takes the view that Standard Premier is reaccomodated but only in their lowest class of carriage. I've not yet found a way of being compensated for the downgrade but admitedly haven't looked for long.
On balance I'd say a seat at the front of the Eurostar is a more secure way of making the connection than relying on the connections corridor being open.
Whilst the Eurostar train managers will request the ICE be held for a few minutes in reality it hasn't helped in my case, including once arriving on the platform as the door final door was locked, seconds of extra hold would have at least got me aboard. In reality the ICE has a schedule to keep in Germany and so I can understand the reluctance to accept a long delay.
My best advice if you have to take the 20 minute connection is to carry only the luggage you can carry down the stair case, sit at the front of the train, be first to get off. If that isn't going to work then ideally get the train manager to annotate your ticket then go straight to the rail team ticket office, ignore the SNCB staff member trying to filter the customers and take a ticket for the Thalys ticket queue from the machine. Then get the ticket office staff to apply the rail team "hop on the next train" stamp. You now have a few minutes to shop before trying to find an unreserved/unoccupied seat on a train to Germany.
Out of preference I do try to avoid the 20 minute connection by adding a 21 minute stop over on the London Spezial at Bruxelles Midi to force the system to offer the preceding Eurostar service.
On balance I'd say a seat at the front of the Eurostar is a more secure way of making the connection than relying on the connections corridor being open.
Whilst the Eurostar train managers will request the ICE be held for a few minutes in reality it hasn't helped in my case, including once arriving on the platform as the door final door was locked, seconds of extra hold would have at least got me aboard. In reality the ICE has a schedule to keep in Germany and so I can understand the reluctance to accept a long delay.
My best advice if you have to take the 20 minute connection is to carry only the luggage you can carry down the stair case, sit at the front of the train, be first to get off. If that isn't going to work then ideally get the train manager to annotate your ticket then go straight to the rail team ticket office, ignore the SNCB staff member trying to filter the customers and take a ticket for the Thalys ticket queue from the machine. Then get the ticket office staff to apply the rail team "hop on the next train" stamp. You now have a few minutes to shop before trying to find an unreserved/unoccupied seat on a train to Germany.
Out of preference I do try to avoid the 20 minute connection by adding a 21 minute stop over on the London Spezial at Bruxelles Midi to force the system to offer the preceding Eurostar service.
SephenWorceste
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I did a dummy booking for my last trip today for some date in the future. I used the DB UK language site as suggested here. It gave me the twenty minute change in Brussels but on the itinerary details there is an option to change the connection time of any particular connection. You can ask for an earlier incoming or later outgoing train. It then reformilates the itinerary as required.
I do not think Loco2 has that option. I might have to switch booking sites unfortunately.
Best wishes, Stephen.
I do not think Loco2 has that option. I might have to switch booking sites unfortunately.
Best wishes, Stephen.
I can't recommend the DB website enough. You can put up to two breaks in your journey of up to 40 hours I think. Making pleasant stop-overs in German cities of sometimes two nights possible and easing the fatigue of a long journey.
If you do want to do a short change at Midi why not walk to the front of the train 10 minutes before it's due to arrive? Even if it means walking through a higher class there will probably be no staff around to stop you. It's a trick I learned at Bradford Interchange. Works fine at King's Cross.
If you do want to do a short change at Midi why not walk to the front of the train 10 minutes before it's due to arrive? Even if it means walking through a higher class there will probably be no staff around to stop you. It's a trick I learned at Bradford Interchange. Works fine at King's Cross.
I read this topic with great interest as I am doing exactly this connection in two weeks.
I have a DB through ticket from St Pancras to Essen.
I am booked into carriage 15, which must be either right at the front or right at the back of the train.
From what I gather then, there is a subway entrance somewhere on the platform leading to the other platforms?
But if at the front of the train, I take it that it's best to leave the platform at the ordinary exit, not double back to the subway?
If I miss the connection, who do I go to see to have the ticket endorsed to travel on later trains?
Thanks.
I have a DB through ticket from St Pancras to Essen.
I am booked into carriage 15, which must be either right at the front or right at the back of the train.
From what I gather then, there is a subway entrance somewhere on the platform leading to the other platforms?
But if at the front of the train, I take it that it's best to leave the platform at the ordinary exit, not double back to the subway?
If I miss the connection, who do I go to see to have the ticket endorsed to travel on later trains?
Thanks.
I've done this connection on the way to Venice. The Eurostar was a few minutes late and the middle subway was closed but the Eurostar manager announced that the DB train was being held for us. All was well. Because DB will put you on a later train if you miss it due to the Eurostar being late then the only reason to build in extra time at Brussels might be because of the seat reservations?
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YorkshireBear
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Consensus here seems to be have a chat with the train manager!
eastwestdivide
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Or to put it another way, coach 1 is at the London end, whether that's the back or the front of the train.
Yes, if you are at the front head for the ordinary exit. If you are happy with stairs and don't have too much luggage then take those next to the lift. That will lead you direct down to the main underpass between platforms. If you miss the connection then I'd enquire first at the Eurostar reception.
JonathanP
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I caught the ICE this morning from Brussels. 15 minutes before departure time access to the platforms was unrestricted, 5 minutes later only onc entrance was open and Baggage X-Ray and Metal Detection was required.
So here's another top secret tip for any terrorists or other n'er do wells who want to evade the formidable Belgian cordon sanitaire, but can't be bothered to buy a metro ticket: turn up more than 10 minutes before your train leaves. What a joke
So here's another top secret tip for any terrorists or other n'er do wells who want to evade the formidable Belgian cordon sanitaire, but can't be bothered to buy a metro ticket: turn up more than 10 minutes before your train leaves. What a joke
Also I highly recommend the Eurostar mobile app for checking in - it allows you to choose your seat and tells you where the front of the train is
The problem with not offering tight connections at Brussels Midi/Zuid is that the total journey time becomes much longer for UK-Netherlands/Germany, making rail much less attractive compared to the alternatives. Of course this exacerbated if denying passengers the option of a 20 minute connection means making them wait for hours, but even adding another 30 minutes makes a significant difference to a journey of around 5 hours from London to western Germany, where air and rail door-to-door journey times are similar. Often significant sums of money are spent in building new infrastructure to reduce journey times, with the stated aim of making rail more attractive compared to less environmentally friendly alternatives. By taking multiple small measures to make tight connections more attractive (e.g. booking passengers with connections at the front of the Eurostar), rail should hopefully be able to gain modal share (in some cases, such as this one) without large outlays. Of course passengers for whom time is not a priority should be able to choose a longer connection time.
When my ICE was cancelled on this route in 2012, I had my ticket stamped at the Belgian Railways' international ticket office and then travelled to Germany by Belgian IC to Liège and then on regional trains.
When my ICE was cancelled on this route in 2012, I had my ticket stamped at the Belgian Railways' international ticket office and then travelled to Germany by Belgian IC to Liège and then on regional trains.
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BluePenguin
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Stay in/near Gravesend, Folkestone or Ashford instead perhaps? The cost of a hotel plus a taxi will surely be much cheaper than a hotel in London.
YorkshireBear
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I considered it and will do when trying to get further. But the back up journeys from Brussels are not too bad so I am not going to worry about it too much this year.
YorkshireBear
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Just put the reservation order in for my interrail pass including the 20 minute connection. Fingers crossed, we decided to risk it! With good knowledge of our back up!
Gerald Fiennes
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Most times, the 20 minute connection at BMI is just fine. It's only a very few times I've ever had the kind of problem that started out this thread. My further tip when you get off the ES is not to wait for a lift down to the ground floor (which instantly gets jammed up with everyone getting off the train) but just walk down the stairs around the lift shaft.
Second tip - if the stairs look congested or you have big bags, it may be quicker and easier to keep walking past the stairs to the set of escalators just past them. Then double back on yourself when you get to the ground floor. I've done this a few times and often find myself in front of people who were heading to the stairs before me
gordonthemoron
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I caught the ICE this morning from Brussels. 15 minutes before departure time access to the platforms was unrestricted, 5 minutes later only onc entrance was open and Baggage X-Ray and Metal Detection was required.
So here's another top secret tip for any terrorists or other n'er do wells who want to evade the formidable Belgian cordon sanitaire, but can't be bothered to buy a metro ticket: turn up more than 10 minutes before your train leaves. What a joke
Or join the train at Brussels Nord as it has no security
I did this on Monday and it was fine. Turned out I'd read my ticket wrong and I was in coach 1 - right at the end of the train. But the connection route - which is basically an escalator leading to a discreet exit into the main under-platform connecting passageway - was open.
It maybe took me 5-7 minutes train to train. Of course, as with any connection, there could be an issue if the Eurostar was delayed.
It maybe took me 5-7 minutes train to train. Of course, as with any connection, there could be an issue if the Eurostar was delayed.
33Hz
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I've done the Eurostar-ICE 20 minute connection many times over the years. I've never missed it, but once was close thanks to a late incoming train and the couloir sud being closed.
As others have said, while the couloir sud used to be open every time, it is now essentially random. This started when the utterly pointless Thalys security theatre happened after the guy with the Kalashnikov got on that train a few years ago.
As others have said, while the couloir sud used to be open every time, it is now essentially random. This started when the utterly pointless Thalys security theatre happened after the guy with the Kalashnikov got on that train a few years ago.
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