Eurostar via Rotterdam

[newmilton]

Hallo all. COVID restrictions permitting, I will be travelling to Utrecht in the new year. The quickest route seems to be with a change in Rotterdam rather than going all the way to Amsterdam and changing there, and I wondered if anyone had any experience of taking Eurostar to and from Rotterdam - border arrangements, facilities, how much time to allow for changing trains, etc.

I note E* themselves tell you their trains use platform 2, but a quick search for plans of the station reveals the platforms are numbered by track, with a platform 1 & 3, but no platform 2! And is a Rotterdam ticket valid to and from Amsterdam, and vice versa, as with St Pancras, Ebbsfleet and Ashford here (ignoring the temporary closure of the last two), given the fare is the same?

Many thanks.

 

[StephenHunter]

I went to Utrecht pre-Covid via Rotterdam on Eurostar. I also went to Amsterdam on it earlier this month.
Some point:

• They use the e320s exclusively as those are the only ones that can operate in the Netherlands.
• Passport checks for the Schengen area are done at St Pancras before boarding the train; as the ETIAS system has yet to start, you will need to get your passport stamped by the French border police. Once you're through that, you should be relatively easy.
• The Railplanner App is highly recommended even if you don't have an Interail pass.
• Utrecht itself has a great railway museum with a regular service from the central station directly to it.

 

[MisterT]

I note E* themselves tell you their trains use platform 2, but a quick search for plans of the station reveals the platforms are numbered by track, with a platform 1 & 3, but no platform 2!

You are probably looking at an outdated map for Rotterdam. Track 1 has been removed and the platform has been extended towards track 2, which is now the first track, but still called track/platform 2.
This is only in the direction of London though. The passport control area is located there, so passengers towards London will have their passport checks there.
Arriving from London usually happens at platform 11 or 12. The intercity trains to Utrecht usually depart from platforms 13 and 14, every 15 minutes, so no need to hurry. It's just one platform to the right on arrival, which can be reached via the main underground concourse (with lift and escalators) at the rear part of the platform, or the stairs over the tracks at the front part (when arriving from London ofc).

 

[biko]

Just to add to the previous replies, if the Eurostar is on time, it is possible to take the intercity scheduled to depart a few minutes later in my experience. There seems to be quite a bit of slack in the schedule between Brussels and Rotterdam as I arrived the last couple of times even a few minutes early.

And is a Rotterdam ticket valid to and from Amsterdam, and vice versa, as with St Pancras, Ebbsfleet and Ashford here (ignoring the temporary closure of the last two), given the fare is the same?

I don't believe so, the ticket is valid to the mentioned destination on the ticket. But as Amsterdam is further than Rotterdam, you could just leave the train in Rotterdam without any problems. There are no checks at the platform in Rotterdam.

 

[DanielB]

Another addition, as I don't see "any Dutch station"-tickets on the Eurostar UK website (they are only on the Dutch site): buy an E-ticket for the leg to Utrecht in advance. Otherwise you'd have to leave the concourse first (through the gates) to get to the ticket machines. With an OV-chipkaart you'd be able to check in at the platforms where internation trains arrive.

Regarding facilities at the stations to spend your time prior to going through passport control: there's not really a significant difference between Amsterdam Central, Rotterdam Central and Utrecht Central. All three stations have plenty of shops and a good choice of takeaway food would you want to eat something. The only thing you wouldn't find at Rotterdam Central is a restaurant at the station to spend some time, although there are some just outside the station (and there is a "Stationshuiskamer" with seating and simple food)

Usually an announcement is made at the station when you need to get to the Eurostar lounge for passport control, so you'll not risk to miss your train when spending time elsewhere within the station.

 

[rf_ioliver]

Hallo all. COVID restrictions permitting, I will be travelling to Utrecht in the new year. The quickest route seems to be with a change in Rotterdam rather than going all the way to Amsterdam and changing there, and I wondered if anyone had any experience of taking Eurostar to and from Rotterdam - border arrangements, facilities, how much time to allow for changing trains, etc.

Just came back from Holland yesterday. They run their railway network like a giant commuter rail system with regular departures, no seat bookings, no on-board services etc. As far as I can tell you can use any train going in the direction you need. If you miss a service the next one will be along in 30 minutes max it seems. IIRC yesterday there were departures from Eindhoven to Amsterdam and Schipol direction even 10 minutes I think. I'm regretting not varying my route back to Schipol now - always via Utrecht and I could have gone via Rotterdam for a change...

BTW, masks are compulsory on board and the conductors will tell you off. Never checked tickets, but you do have barriers to enter and exit stations.

 

[biko]

As far as I can tell you can use any train going in the direction you need.

That's not fully the case, you can only use routes the journey planner shows and also the shortest if that's not the same.

If you miss a service the next one will be along in 30 minutes max it seems. IIRC yesterday there were departures from Eindhoven to Amsterdam and Schipol direction even 10 minutes I think.

Except at some extremities of the country, indeed the frequency is at least 2 per hour. On Utrecht - Rotterdam the frequency of intercity trains is 4 per hour as a previous poster remarked.

 

[DanielB]

As far as I can tell you can use any train going in the direction you need.

As long as you're complying with the rules you're allowed to take any train indeed. The general rules are that you'll need to use either the fastest route, the route with least amount of changes or the shortest distance. (And more easy: everything that's shown in the journey planner is allowed) Detours therefore are only allowed with a via-ticket or checking out and in halfway.
Additionally it's never allowed to travel towards the stations where you've checked in (or bought your ticket from) and be aware of routes with multiple operators. In the latter case the ticket machine will ask you to select a route which you'll have to follow.

If you miss a service the next one will be along in 30 minutes max it seems.

NS is obliged to serve every station at least twice an hour, but not all regional operators are (in evenings and on Sunday). But from most stations there's a service every 30 minutes indeed, in North-Holland, South-Holland and Utrecht usually even every fifteen minutes.
Be aware that in areas with more than two trains an hour connections usually won't wait, but in general the short cross-platform connections appearing in the journey planner are easily possible in most cases.

IIRC yesterday there were departures from Eindhoven to Amsterdam and Schipol direction even 10 minutes I think.

Amsterdam - Utrecht - Eindhoven is currently the only corridor with an intercity every 10 minutes, but be aware that this pattern is made up out of various services (two of the six services from Amsterdam to Utrecht continue towards Arnhem, that gap is filled up with two services from Schiphol between Utrecht and Eindhoven.
In december this year a second "ETMET" corridor is added and Intercity trains will also run every ten minutes at Rotterdam - Leiden - Schiphol - Utrecht - Arnhem, again as a combination of multiple services. And Dordrecht - Rotterdam will then get a Sprinter every ten minutes.