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Eurostar London-Brussels Trip Review
A popular way of getting to Netherlands from the south-east UK is by taking the Eurostar train from London to Brussels and then travelling onwards to Amsterdam by Thalys or Intercity train. Let's take a look at travelling by Standard Premier class on the Eurostar... |
There are 3 classes of travel on the Eurostar:
Standard Class - effectively 2nd class with the normal 2-2 configuration seating, seat pitch of approximately 33" (84.5cm) and food/drink available for purchase at the bar buffet car.
Standard Premier - a first class "lite" product using dedicated carriages with 1-2 configuration and seat pitch of 37" (94.5cm). A complimentary light meal and drinks are served at your seat and a selection of magazines is available.
Business Premier - a flexible fare business product with dedicated carriages (similar 1-2 config and seat pitch as Standard Premier). A full meal with drinks is served at your seat, plus newspapers and magazines are available. At the station you get fast-track check-in and a business lounge which has free refreshments and Wi-Fi.
Both Standard Premier and Business Premier have in-seat power (both UK and Euro style sockets are available in alternate seat rows). Standard class offers plug sockets only in carriages 5 and 14 which can be booked subject to availability.
We travelled on the Eurostar from London to Brussels in Standard Premier. We booked a ticket to "Any Dutch Station" which allows onward travel with the Intercity from Brussels to Amsterdam. During the booking process Eurostar allows you to select your London-Brussels seats and to print your own boarding pass.
One-way prices ex-London start at £101 for Standard Premier (£51 for Standard, £260 for Business Premier); if booking a return then prices for each way are from £89.50 Standard Premier (£44.50 Standard, £215 Business Premier).Note that Eurostar also allows booking tickets starting at other stations in the UK - this may be cheaper than buying a separate ticket to London St Pancras.
The Trip
You can check-in up to 30 minutes in advance on the Eurostar in Standard or Standard Premier. For our early morning train to Brussels, we arrived around 50 minutes before departure. London St Pancras was very busy with long check-in queues for the Eurostar. The public area inside London St Pancras contains a very decent range of shops, cafes and restaurants.
You need to go through a check-in gate (where you scan or insert your ticket) and then an immediate security check followed by French border control. You are then in the main departures lounge area which is used by all Eurostar passengers going to Paris and Brussels. This area has a WH Smith newsagent, Caffe Nero and another cafe. Free Wi-Fi is available.
About 20 minutes before departure boarding is called and you go up the escalators to the platforms to find your carriage and seats. If you have large cases there are luggage racks inside the train near the doors. Otherwise there are overhead racks for medium and smaller bags. Our carriage today was very quiet, about a quarter occupied. Standard Premier class has magazines available for reading (such as Time, Economist, Wired etc) but no newspapers.
The train departed a couple of minutes late and we were soon speeding our way out of London. The train made a quick stop at Ebbsfleet before continuing on the high speed track towards the channel tunnel.
Being a morning service, a light continental style breakfast with coffee or tea was served about 25 minutes into the journey. The multi-lingual staff came by again later with more tea and coffee. If you travel after 11am you will get a (cold) light meal with the option of soft drinks, wine or beer. Special meals are available on request.
The train slows down for the channel tunnel section which takes 20 minutes. It then speeds up again on the French side for the high speed run to Lille-Europe station and then Brussels Zuid-Midi - our arrival was a few minutes late, with the journey having taken just over 2 hours.
The Intercity to Amsterdam is scheduled to depart hourly at :18 past the hour - usually from platform 18/19 - which is at the other end of the station from the Eurostar arrivals. Check the station departure boards as the Intercity service does suffer from the odd delays and cancellations.
The Standard Premier ticket allows travel on the Intercity in first class. Alternatively you could book a faster (and more expensive) Thalys train on your Eurostar booking - select London to "Amsterdam" rather than "any Dutch Station".
Overall, travel on the Eurostar in Standard Premier is recommended - a comfortable and civilised way to travel in a quiet cabin. The meals are now a bit on the light side compared to when the service was called Leisure Select and you used to get a very decent meal. However it still makes a good start to a trip to the continent.
Check out our international rail connections map from Amsterdam which includes the Eurostar:
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for international rail map
[Editor note: The above journey was taken in July 2011 - we paid for our own tickets]
 | If you have an early Eurostar departure consider booking a hotel close to London St Pancras station: click here For hotels close to Brussels Zuid/Midi station: click here Excellent rates available with our partner EasyToBook with no need to pay until check-out. |