Using an InterRail pass on Eurostar more then once?

[gray1404]

I have a 3 month InterRail pass I'm about to start using. I might need to return to the UK however a couple of times briefly during my trip. Will I be allowed to use Eurostar for this purpose? I assume the ticket isn't restricted to only one return trip on Eurostar?

Is there a way of obtaining the Eurostar reservations without using the InterRail app as I note they charge? I am worried about getting ripped of with InterRail reservation fees when many trains do not actually require a reservation.

I understand I can use the pass to travel in the UK twice, once on departure and another time on return. This this actually enforceable also given I have a non UK passport, although my residency on the pass is listed as UK.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

I have a 3 month InterRail pass I'm about to start using. I might need to return to the UK however a couple of times briefly during my trip. Will I be allowed to use Eurostar for this purpose? I assume the ticket isn't restricted to only one return trip on Eurostar?

Is there a way of obtaining the Eurostar reservations without using the InterRail app as I note they charge? I am worried about getting ripped of with InterRail reservation fees when many trains do not actually require a reservation.

I understand I can use the pass to travel in the UK twice, once on departure and another time on return. This this actually enforceable also given I have a non UK passport, although my residency on the pass is listed as UK.

If you have UK residency listed on the Interrail pass you will be able to use travel once within the UK to get to your port of departure (in your case St Pancras and Eurostar) and then be able to do one pass holder reservation on departure and then the same in reverse at the end of your trip. You will not be able to make further round trips on Eurostar or within GB, as you live in GB, Eurostar counts as a journey in your home country, so triggers one of your two permitted inbound/outbound days.

 

[Alex365Dash]

Is there a way of obtaining the Eurostar reservations without using the InterRail app as I note they charge? I am worried about getting ripped of with InterRail reservation fees when many trains do not actually require a reservation.

Your options (with thanks to Seat 61):
- Visit a Eurostar ticket office. These are available at London St Pancras, Lille Europe, Paris Gare du Nord and Bruxelles Midi. No booking fee is charged.
- Call Eurostar telesales on 03432 186 186 (UK) or +44 1233 617575 (overseas). There may be a phone booking fee charged.
- Use the Interrail reservations page. This charges a €2 booking fee per person.
- Use the SNCB webpage here. This charges a €4 booking fee per booking.

More information is on the Seat 61 site linked above.

 

[gray1404]

If you have UK residency listed on the Interrail pass you will be able to use travel once within the UK to get to your port of departure (in your case St Pancras and Eurostar) and then be able to do one pass holder reservation on departure and then the same in reverse at the end of your trip. You will not be able to make further round trips on Eurostar or within GB, as you live in GB, Eurostar counts as a journey in your home country, so triggers one of your two permitted inbound/outbound days.

So if UK wasn't listed as my country of residence would further trips on Eurostar be permitted?

 

[Alex365Dash]

So if UK wasn't listed as my country of residence would further trips on Eurostar be permitted?

Yes, although you’d have to pay the somewhat hefty reservation fee on each occasion you travelled!

Further trips in Great Britain would also be permitted.

 

[gray1404]

Yes, although you’d have to pay the somewhat hefty reservation fee on each occasion you travelled!

Further trips in Great Britain would also be permitted.

Oh really. I thought it was only €2 as stated in your post above?

Also worth noting I am using a mobile pass if that makes any difference.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Also worth noting I am using a mobile pass if that makes any difference.

The method of fulfilment of the ticket (eg paper v mobile pass) makes absolutely no difference to its validity.

 

[gray1404]

The method of fulfilment of the ticket (eg paper v mobile pass) makes absolutely no difference to its validity.

I meant rather in terms of if i have to make reservations on the app or not. Sorry.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

I meant rather in terms of if i have to make reservations on the app or not. Sorry.

Again the fulfilment choice of the ticket makes no difference on whether reservations are required.

likewise you can fulfill the reservations either via paper or app. I don’t believe there is anything stopping you having a mobile pass and a paper reservation.

 

[gray1404]

Again the fulfilment choice of the ticket makes no difference on whether reservations are required.

likewise you can fulfill the reservations either via paper or app. I don’t believe there is anything stopping you having a mobile pass and a paper reservation.

I thought you had to list every journey on the app?

Yes, although you’d have to pay the somewhat hefty reservation fee on each occasion you travelled!

Further trips in Great Britain would also be permitted.

Sorry I'm just a bit confused about the jump in reservation fees.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

I thought you had to list every journey on the app?

Indeed you do which is no difference to listing every journey on the journey log of a paper pass which is also mandatory.

This is a separate requirement to any reservations.

 

[gray1404]

Indeed you do which is no difference to listing every journey on the journey log of a paper pass which is also mandatory.

This is a separate requirement to any reservations.

So it's possible to list journeys without making a reservation.

 

[Haywain]

Oh really. I thought it was only €2 as stated in your post above?

As I read it, that would be a booking fee in addition to the reservation fee.

 

[Watershed]

So it's possible to list journeys without making a reservation.

Yes. There's nothing in the Interrail app which checks that you have a reservation before allowing you to add a journey to your pass. It warns you that reservations are mandatory (sometimes wrongly, e.g. on Avanti and LNER trains which are falsely marked reservations compulsory) but nothing more.

As I read it, that would be a booking fee in addition to the reservation fee.

Yes, that's correct. The ripoff reservation fee is €30 in Standard or €38 in Standard Premier (where Eurostar recognise a 1st class pass), on top of any booking fee.

 

[Flying Snail]

Yes. There's nothing in the Interrail app which checks that you have a reservation before allowing you to add a journey to your pass. It warns you that reservations are mandatory (sometimes wrongly, e.g. on Avanti and LNER trains which are falsely marked reservations compulsory) but nothing more.


Yes, that's correct. The ripoff reservation fee is €30 in Standard or €38 in Standard Premier (where Eurostar recognise a 1st class pass), on top of any booking fee.

On top of that there is a quota linked to the regular fare brackets so interrail reservations sell out well in advance on all Eurostar services that are busy (pretty much all of them).

Every high speed train that has SNCF involvement has swinging reservation fees; Thalys and TGV Lyria (France - Switzerland) are even more rip-off than Eurostar and Thalys has very small Interrail quotas. The rest of the TGV and Intercities are quota controlled €10 reservations or €20 after that until the train is fully reserved.

You can get French reservations without an additional booking fee at SNCF ticket offices (but expect long queues) or at SNCF ticket machines (but expect to be stunned at how slow and frustrating those awful things are to use).

 

[gray1404]

So would it be possible for me to get a reservation on Eurostar to use InterRail next week perhaps?

 

[Flying Snail]

So would it be possible for me to get a reservation on Eurostar to use InterRail next week perhaps?

There is a handful of spaces still left through the week, at least to Lille/Brussels and some space to Paris from Wednesday.

Use this link to check and book:

Seat reservation for Pass holders | SNCB International

As a holder of an Interrail or Eurail pass, you can book your seat or berth on high speed trains and night trains at the special Pass holder fare here.

www.b-europe.com

You need a pass cover number to buy from there but I11111111 works.

 

[Merseysider]

Assuming you have a global pass.

You need a reservation to travel on Eurostar.

These cost €30 in Standard & €38 in Std Premium (only valid with 1st class interrail).

You can use Eurostar on two separate days during your pass' validity period, providing you have a reservation, if your country of residence is here in the UK and shown thus on the interrail pass.

This is because you are limited to one "inbound" and one "outbound" travel day in your home country (although these can be on any date, in any order) and as Eurostar involves travel within the UK, it is limited in line with purely domestic trains.

You can use Eurostar as many times as you like, on as many days as you like, if your country of residence is outside the UK, such as Ireland and if this is also indicated on your pass.

However, I don't believe it is possible to change this after purchase.

Note that you may/will be asked to prove where you live - I never got asked for proof of current address but the Scandinavian countries were very interested in checking my passport and making sure I was indeed British.

So would it be possible for me to get a reservation on Eurostar to use InterRail next week perhaps?

Unlikely but not impossible (edit, there are a few left - see above post).

Last time I checked, Interrail reservations were available only as long as one of the bottom 3 fare "buckets" (price levels) were available on the train in question. These tend to sell out weeks or even months in advance for UK school holiday periods and the summer.

 

[Watershed]

Last time I checked, Interrail reservations were available only as long as one of the bottom 3 fare "buckets" (price levels) were available on the train in question.

I think it's the opposite, but the effect is the same - it's impossible to obtain a passholder reservation at busy periods, unless you book a long time in advance, even though there are still seats remaining.

Eurostar's participation in Interrail is, unfortunately, nugatory in a lot of respects.

 

[30907]

I think it's the opposite, but the effect is the same - it's impossible to obtain a passholder reservation at busy periods, unless you book a long time in advance, even though there are still seats remaining.

They are definitely quota-controlled, as are the EUR10 fares on TGV.

Booking Eurostar 6 weeks ahead for a Monday morning, the key late-morning trains were unavailable (unsurprisingly, including the 1104 Amsterdam).
My impression is that things have got tighter in this respect since my previous trip in August last year - not surprising, given the well-known issues at STP.

 

[Flying Snail]

They are definitely quota-controlled, as are the EUR10 fares on TGV.

Booking Eurostar 6 weeks ahead for a Monday morning, the key late-morning trains were unavailable (unsurprisingly, including the 1104 Amsterdam).
My impression is that things have got tighter in this respect since my previous trip in August last year - not surprising, given the well-known issues at STP.

There aren't quotas as such on Eurostar (€10 TGV and Thalys are) but instead interrail reservations are available up to the point that the regular fares offered are in the last 2 or 3 most expensive fare brackets, once that threshold is reached interrail can no longer be booked but there is no fixed number of pass reservations allowed.

As occasionally happens that Eurostar release additional trains for booking, these will start with the lower fare brackets and interrail reservations will be available the same way until those trains reach the higher brackets.

 

[30907]

There aren't quotas as such on Eurostar (€10 TGV and Thalys are) but instead interrail reservations are available up to the point that the regular fares offered are in the last 2 or 3 most expensive fare brackets, once that threshold is reached interrail can no longer be booked but there is no fixed number of pass reservations allowed.

Thanks for clarifying.

As occasionally happens that Eurostar release additional trains for booking, these will start with the lower fare brackets and interrail reservations will be available the same way until those trains reach the higher brackets.

Well worth knowing - I've noticed this happening with the 1131 and 1331 departures to Paris, not sure about the returns.

A quick update: on some random checks (planning my next escape!) there is no availability on some services mid-July already (peak season obviously) - but worth noting that sometimes there are fares to Amsterdam but not on the same train to Brussels; ISTR this was true of "ordinary " fares initially as well. There is nothing to stop one alighting at Lille on an Amsterdam ticket....