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Amsterdam Eurostar

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Struner

Struner

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sprunt said:
Thanks for all the tips. Looking at the times, it does seem to be that changing at Rotterdam makes sense, but only for the single change. Arriving at Rotterdam at 15.32 I can get the 16.05 to Groningen, arriving at 18.42 - if I stay on until Amsterdam, I have to get three trains, the last of which is the same one I'd be getting on at Rotterdam, so I may as well do that.
Click to expand...
One change, one chance of disruption.
Three changes, three...
 
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Struner

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tasky said:
Mostly agree with this but worth pointing out that a lot of *national* connections will be available at Rotterdam as well, which is a very convenient station for interchange
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Indeed, not that’s very relevant for me tho, living not far from @sprunt s destination.
When I go to A’dam I usually take the direct train to Schiphol etc & get off at Zuid, & take metro/tram from there - that’s how I know it’s a windswept dump :( . & when I go to R’dam I take the other direct train of course ( to visit my sister, €* isn’t much use to me).
Unlike London or Paris, Amsterdam isn’t a hydrocephalus you can’t avoid.
 
AlexNL

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cle said:
Where is the metro island? Is that being buried too? It already has 3 islands (1 pair metro, sharing the lines, which is less than ideal, 2 pairs for rail)
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The impression I posted before is outdated, the decision to add 2 tracks to Zuid and move international trains there was taken recently.

The impression does feature an additional island for the metro (the two smaller ones at the top).
It still looks like an elevated set of island platforms, just now landscaped - not an international terminus or anything resembling a station of stature.
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I haven't seen any impressions yet of what the additional platform will look like, but I'm not expecting anything radically different from the platforms above. I'm expecting the new station to get a waiting room (St. Pancras style, perhaps) so you don't have to go onto the platforms until it's time to board the train.
 
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jfollows

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The link I mentioned and signed up to in post 1062 has resulted in the following confirmation email:

Hello,

Drumroll please…

From 11 February, you can book tickets on our new direct train from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London for as little as £35. We wanted to tell you first as someone who opted in for updates.

Since 2018, Eurostar has provided a seamless journey from London to the Netherlands. But the new route – now direct both ways – will provide hassle-free travel between these iconic European cities.

With CO2 emissions on our route up to 80% less* than an equivalent flight, taking the train is the greener way to go. If you’re itching to book tickets, why not start planning your trip today?

• Amsterdam train launches on 30 April
• Rotterdam train launches on 18 May
Click to expand...

Somewhat unbelievably, having blamed the delay on lack of international legal agreement being passed, it appears that the Rotterdam station wasn't quite ready anyway.
 
Struner

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Don’t know why R’dam isn’t quite ready yet though. & initially there will only be two direct trains. Staffing problems?
 
AlexNL

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Yep, they do not yet have enough Marechaussee staff for more trains per day.

Journey times will be 4h09, the train will have a 30 minute stop in Brussels. I presume this time is needed to make sure the NL-Brussels passengers have alighted and those coaches have been checked for stowaways.

Tickets go on sale 11 February.
 
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island

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AlexNL said:
Yep, they do not yet have enough Marechaussee staff for more trains per day.

Journey times will be 4h09, the train will have a 30 minute stop in Brussels. I presume this time is needed to make sure the NL-Brussels passengers have alighted and those coaches have been checked for stowaways.
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It’s probably just to allow boarding and driver to change ends etc.

The check for stowaways would be at the last Schengen stop, namely Lille or Calais.
 
AlexNL

AlexNL

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No need for the driver to change ends, Eurostar will be using platform 3 at Brussels South. This platform is accessible when coming from the north.

The first two direct NL>GB trains will not call anywhere between Brussels and London. Further trains might do that, but I don't think that Eurostar will sell NL>Lille tickets.
 
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cle

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I did wonder if there was ever a Lille > NL market to explore, as it is currently not served by Thalys.

Small possibility, but perhaps a case of offering deals on the same amount of seats as sold from London>Lille, to attempt some double-dipping on the same train.

The issue is that the NL trains really need to be competitive on time, hence the non-stop Brussels runs. Slow-downs have a huge penalty so I can't see Lille or any Kent stops being added for a while.
 
eastwestdivide

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cle said:
The issue is that the NL trains really need to be competitive on time, hence the non-stop Brussels runs. Slow-downs have a huge penalty so I can't see Lille or any Kent stops being added for a while.
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For comparison, the first 4 weekday St Pancras departures to Brussels from the current Eurostar timetables page (PDF) at
https://content-static.eurostar.com/documents/Timetables Core Destinations_Issue_84_EN_0.pdf
0647 StP-Ebbs-Ashf-Lille-Bru 1007 for a time of 2h20
0716 StP-(nonstop) Bru 1012 for 1h56
0854 StP-Ebbs-Calais-Lille-Bru 1205 for 2h11
1104 StP-Lille-Bru-1405 for 2h01
 
AlexNL

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cle said:
I did wonder if there was ever a Lille > NL market to explore, as it is currently not served by Thalys.
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Thalys have operated a service between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and Lille for a couple of years. They ran two trains a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.

This service was scrapped due to poor patronage, despite low prices and marketing efforts to get people to visit Lille, and has been replaced by a service to Disneyland.
 
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AlexNL said:
Thalys have operated a service between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and Lille for a couple of years. They ran two trains a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.

This service was scrapped due to poor patronage, despite low prices and marketing efforts to get people to visit Lille, and has been replaced by a service to Disneyland.
Click to expand...

How busy will it be with Dutch tourists do you think as I imagine London to Amsterdam is very popular will we see more use Eurostar to come to London? I imagine Ajax playing in European football will mean many will take this route to London if they play Arsenal or Spurs and Chelsea?
 
AlexNL

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I think the success of the direct route to Amsterdam, despite the return not being direct yet, bodes well for the future. Direct trains are appealing, and the 'flight shame' movement will only help to make the train more attractive.

I would not be surprised to eventually see almost all Brussels Eurostars extended to Amsterdam.
 
Struner

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Agree with you there Alex!
Or should it be the other way round? Most services to/from A’dam (but not all) will stop at Brussel? ;)
(It’s no use to me though. In the absence of the Thurso sleeper, I’ll fly A’dam-A’deen-Kirkwall)
 
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I can see it going to 5 or 6 return trips a day, but expect prices to be ahead of flying.
 
markymark2000

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cle said:
I did wonder if there was ever a Lille > NL market to explore, as it is currently not served by Thalys.
Click to expand...
As long as you only sell the ticket for the same seats which were used from London to Lille, you might as well sell the ticket as it it a no lose situation.
If you get no passengers, well that is the same that is happening now with it leaving an empty seat.
If however you do get 1 passenger, it is 1 more passenger than you are currently getting which then mean extra revenue.
 
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cle

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Ajax, wow that'll be lively. But yep, I could see that being hugely useful.

The inbound market (business and leisure) is massive too, and Rotterdam is a big player here - it's a similar sized city than Amsterdam (more with The Hague) - and so for Dutch visitors to the UK, a definite big source (even if not the reverse for leisure).

markymark2000 said:
As long as you only sell the ticket for the same seats which were used from London to Lille, you might as well sell the ticket as it it a no lose situation.
If you get no passengers, well that is the same that is happening now with it leaving an empty seat.
If however you do get 1 passenger, it is 1 more passenger than you are currently getting which then mean extra revenue.
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That's what I meant - re-sell the same, vacated seat. Works on ICE and Thalys every day.
 
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STEVIEBOY1

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When the Amsterdam to London starts its regular services, how will it be platformed at Brussels for passegers joining there going to London. Will the trains use platforms 1 or 2 and therefore reverse direction? Or can pax get from the secured Eurostar waiting area to one of the through platforms, 3 or 4 for example.

Also does anyone know yet what the departure times are yet from Amsterdam in May or June?

Tks.
 
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popeter45

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STEVIEBOY1 said:
When the Amsterdam to London starts its regular services, how will it be platformed at Brussels for passegers joining there going to London. Will the trains use platforms 1 or 2 and therefore reverse direction? Or can pax get from the secured Eurostar waiting area to one of the through platforms, 3 or 4 for example.

Also does anyone know yet what the departure times are yet from Amsterdam in May or June?

Tks.
Click to expand...

Platform 3 is a Dual use Platform, can be cornered off and then opened to Platform 2 so can share Euro star facilities
 
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BahrainLad

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STEVIEBOY1 said:
When the Amsterdam to London starts its regular services, how will it be platformed at Brussels for passegers joining there going to London. Will the trains use platforms 1 or 2 and therefore reverse direction? Or can pax get from the secured Eurostar waiting area to one of the through platforms, 3 or 4 for example.

Also does anyone know yet what the departure times are yet from Amsterdam in May or June?

Tks.
Click to expand...

My understanding is

1. the rear of the train from Amsterdam will be London passengers. The border control facilities are at this end of Centraal (viewable on Google Maps) at the east end of the station. So passengers for London will clear formalities and then board at this end.
2. The front of the train will be to all intents and purposes, a domestic service to Brussels (will Thalys sell tickets?)
3. Upon arrival in Brussels, it will be on platform 3. Only the front portion of the train will be opened for Brussels bound pax to disembark. London pax will remain on board in the rear part of the train.
4. Once everyone has got off, a security check will take place.
5. When that is finished - and there is ~25 minutes in the schedule to allow this - the Brussels-London passengers will board.
6. The whole train departs for London and arrives like a normal Eurostar.

I think this procedure, if it works well, is a very promising development for Eurostar because it means a number of further destinations could be explored without taking on the financial risk of using an entire Eurostar set. You could for example only start with 3-4 “London bound” carriages at any time and keep the rest for “domestic” passengers, increasing the number of carriages as demand rises.
 
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BahrainLad said:
My understanding is

1. the rear of the train from Amsterdam will be London passengers. The border control facilities are at this end of Centraal (viewable on Google Maps) at the east end of the station. So passengers for London will clear formalities and then board at this end.
2. The front of the train will be to all intents and purposes, a domestic service to Brussels (will Thalys sell tickets?)
3. Upon arrival in Brussels, it will be on platform 3. Only the front portion of the train will be opened for Brussels bound pax to disembark. London pax will remain on board in the rear part of the train.
4. Once everyone has got off, a security check will take place.
5. When that is finished - and there is ~25 minutes in the schedule to allow this - the Brussels-London passengers will board.
6. The whole train departs for London and arrives like a normal Eurostar.

I think this procedure, if it works well, is a very promising development for Eurostar because it means a number of further destinations could be explored without taking on the financial risk of using an entire Eurostar set. You could for example only start with 3-4 “London bound” carriages at any time and keep the rest for “domestic” passengers, increasing the number of carriages as demand rises.
Click to expand...

If Amsterdam takes off, as I suspect it will with more frequent services, it won’t be long until it becomes dedicated to Amsterdam, can a oide the Brussels stop, and make it even more attractive. At, say, 3h45 for a direct service, it would take chunks of traffic from the airlines.
 
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Gadget88

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BahrainLad said:
My understanding is

1. the rear of the train from Amsterdam will be London passengers. The border control facilities are at this end of Centraal (viewable on Google Maps) at the east end of the station. So passengers for London will clear formalities and then board at this end.
2. The front of the train will be to all intents and purposes, a domestic service to Brussels (will Thalys sell tickets?)
3. Upon arrival in Brussels, it will be on platform 3. Only the front portion of the train will be opened for Brussels bound pax to disembark. London pax will remain on board in the rear part of the train.
4. Once everyone has got off, a security check will take place.
5. When that is finished - and there is ~25 minutes in the schedule to allow this - the Brussels-London passengers will board.
6. The whole train departs for London and arrives like a normal Eurostar.

I think this procedure, if it works well, is a very promising development for Eurostar because it means a number of further destinations could be explored without taking on the financial risk of using an entire Eurostar set. You could for example only start with 3-4 “London bound” carriages at any time and keep the rest for “domestic” passengers, increasing the number of carriages as demand rises.
Click to expand...

What happens when say the football is on Euro 2020 this year and the train is sold out with Dutch passengers going to Wembley? Are they only going to sell half the train and keep the other half for Brussels? Or could they lay on extra special trains?
 
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BahrainLad

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Gadget88 said:
What happens when say the football is on Euro 2020 this year and the train is sold out with Dutch passengers going to Wembley? Are they only going to sell half the train and keep the other half for Brussels? Or could they lay on extra special trains?
Click to expand...

I suspect they’d just leave a couple of carriages for Brussels-London passengers. Very easy to manage using the booking system.
 
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