How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from Berlin to London

When looking up a Berlin to London train journey, it's likely that you will also see options for travelling an alternative route via Mannheim or Frankfurt and Paris, particularly on Saturdays.

Though the key advantage of taking this route via Bruxelles is that it avoids the need to make a transfer between stations in Paris, which is why is has been singled out.
Though the connecting time between trains in Koln hbf will be around 35mins, but these connections cannot be guaranteed.

On this journey option, when the end-to-end journey times is more than 11hrs, the connecting time in Bruxelles-Midi/Zuid station between the arrival of the ICE train and departure of the Eurostar trains will be from around 1hr 10 mins - 1hr 20 mins.
The transfer of 1hr 10 mins allow sufficient time to check-in for the Eurostar even if the ICE train from Koln/Cologne arrives in Bruxelles/Brussels more than 45 mins late.
This guide has more information re: making the connection into the Eurostar train at Bruxellles-Midi station.

Departing From Berlin:

These trains commence their journey at Berlin Gesunbrunnen station which is to the north of the city centre.
They also usually depart from the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.

If your journey is commencing in West Berlin, the quickest option is to take a Regio or S-Bahn train from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station to Berlin-Spandau station and join these trains to Koln there.

Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: usually open around 6 months ahead of the travel date.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Eurostar train ticket terms summary

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

Making the connections

SMTJ's recommendation is take the combination of trains via Bruxelles which have an end-to-end journey time of around 12 hours, because the connecting time into the Eurostar will then be around two hours.
That's because there is E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
However, Eurostar classifies journeys involving ICE + Eurostar trains as being booked as a ticketing bundle.

There is also an Agreement of Journey Continuation Policy, the AJC, which DB the operator of the ICE trains has signed up to, and applies to 'ticket bundles' - but Eurostar has not signed up to the AJC.

Though Eurostar is a member of Railteam and it has a Hop on the next available train (HOTNAT) policy.
It 'allows travelers to take the next high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection.* This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions: the connection that was missed must be between two high-speed trains of the Railteam Alliance. HOTNAT only applies *at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains and in cases of train delays and train cancellations. The approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train. Seats are not guaranteed'.

So if a delay in Berlin or Koln causes the final Eurostar of the day to be missed in Bruxelles HOTNAT won't apply.

Much more info is available on this ticketing guide.

Three options which can make the going easier:

1: Avoid journeys which involve connecting into the final Eurostar of the day on to London.

2: Choose end-to-end journey options which have a combination of

• ICE train to Koln
• Thalys train to Bruxelles
• Eurostar to London.
  Because Eurostar does classify Thalys + Eurostar as a 'through ticket'.

3: An option is to book separate tickets for the Berlin to Bruxelles journey with DB, and then book separate tickets for the Eurostar to London, but with an extended period of time between trains.
Then if the ICE trains on the journey to Bruxelles are cancelled or delayed, DB will issue alternative tickets to enable a later arrival into Bruxelles, as this part of the journey has AJC protection.
Similarly if the booked Eurostar train is cancelled, it will transfer tickets to a later departure.
If the journey to Bruxelles is so delayed that you miss the booked connection on to London, you will have to re-book the Eurostar - but this also applies if you book the end-to-end journey.

Seat Reservations:

The tickets will be train specific, but seat reservations are OPTIONAL on both the ICE train between Berlin and Koln/Cologne AND the ICE train between Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles/Brussel.

The reservation fee is 2nd class = €4.90 1st class = €5.90; but the reservation charges cover BOTH of the ICE trains on this journey.
When making a booking with DB or Trainline, you will have to add the reservations.

In contrast seat reservations are mandatory on the Thalys trains, so the ticket prices on all of the agents automatically include this reservation fee,

Reservations are also compulsory on the Eurostar and this is included when booking point2point journey tickets; your Eurostar seats will be automatically assigned.

The alternative route:

When looking up the rail journey from Berlin to London, you MAY also see options for travelling an alternative route via Mannheim or Frankfurt and Paris.
This route is slower and more awkward, due to the need to make a transfer between stations in Paris.

European Sleeper is a new train operating company with a mission to provide overnight trains on new routes across Europe
It's trains aren't brand new, though they have been refreshed, but if you:

• will want to make this journey by making only one connection
• need a morning arrival in London
• won't need to depart Berlin on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday.
  then this service provides a new option for the journey by train from Berlin to London.

The train is typically scheduled to depart from Berlin Hbf at 22:56
Connecting trains typically depart from:

• Dresden Hbf at 19:55
• Munchen Hbf at 17:54
• Poznan Glowny at 19:26
• Praha hln at 17:28
• Wien Hbf at 13:10
• Warszawa Centralna at 16:32

The Eurostar on to London

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Final Destination: London St. Pancras International

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour shorter.

Boarding the Eurostar in Amsterdam:

The train from Berlin will be heading to Bruxelles-Midi station, but it is due to arrive there only 30 mins before the departure of the Eurostar to London - which will have traveled from Amsterdam.
And the train from Berlin will be scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam around 1hr 15mins before the departure of that same Eurostar to London.
So making the connection in Amsterdam instead of Bruxelles allow more contingency time, in the event of a delay, but with the same arrival time into London.

Here is Eurostar's guide to departing by these trains from Amsterdam Centraal.

The key things to know are:

• The train will depart from spoor (platform/track) 15b, which is at the far end of the station from the main entrance.
• On the other side of check-in you will wait for boarding to commence in the departure lounge, it houses seating areas, plugs, re-charge points and vending machines for drinks and snacks.
• Particularly worth knowing is that if you will be travelling with Standard or Standard Premier tickets, is that Eurostar is currently stating that check-in will close 45 mins before departure; and for Business Premier ticket holders it will close 30 mins before
  No other train service from Amsterdam has these departure restrictions, so remember that you will need to be at Amsterdam Centraal ahead of the departure time; Eurostar's recommendation is to be at the departure area 60-90mins ahead of departure if you have Standard or Standard Premier tickets; and 45mins prior to departure if you have Business Premier tickets.

This will allow time for an easy transfer to platform/track 15b .
Though if you're at the station particularly early, an option is to while away the time in the bars/cafés in the main station building; and then to make your way over to platform/track 15b at the suggested ti

Online bookings open from up to 6 months ahead

You will need to book each journey separately; the details of how to do this are included on each of the respective journey guides:

Berlin to Amsterdam

Amsterdam to London

The Nightjet train will typically be scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi station at around 09:55, though due to the length of its route. it will be operate to an altered schedule on multiple dates.
There will typically be a Eurostar train scheduled to depart for London at around 10:55, but European night trains aren't particularly reliable timekeepers.
If the connection into that Eurostar is missed due to the late arrival of the train from Berlin, the Eurostar will need to be re-booked - at an expensive, last-minute price.
Hence the safer, but still not wholly guaranteed, option of taking the Eurostar, which typically leaves Bruxelles at around 12:50.
The logic being that if you book the later Eurostar and arrive in Brussels in time to take the earlier departure, you may as well ask if you can transfer your ticket(s) to it.
But if you miss the earlier train, the Eurostar terms state that tickets can't be transferred to a later departure in these circumstances, on this route.

Departing From Berlin:

This train is usually scheduled to depart from the lower level in Berlin Hbf at around 20:15, depending on the travel date - though due to the length of the journey the schedule often has to be altered due to works on the lines.

These trains also call at Berlin Sudkreuz - which is to the south of the city centre

Connections are available at Berlin Sudkreuz from S-Bahn trains from the eastern and western edges of the city centre, as well as S-Bahn (local) trains from Brandenburger Tor and Postdamer Platz and Anhalter stations.

Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

The Eurostar on to London

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Online bookings open from up to 6 months ahead

You will seemingly need to book each journey separately; the details of how to do this are included on each of the respective journey guides:

From Berlin to Bruxelles

Book with OBB - the operator of the Nightjet.

Online Bookings Usually Open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

The ticketing options depend on the type of accommodation you wish to travel by on the train.
The seats are straightforward, the ticket(s) will include a reservation.

In the couchettes you can either book a place; or solo travellers can pay more and book the entire compartment in order to have sole occupancy.
If you will be travelling in groups of 4 or 6 people, you will be the only occupants of the compartment.
But if you will be travelling in a group of 5, the only method to ensure you won't be sharing the compartment with somebody else, is to book six tickets.
Similarly if you will be travelling in a group of 3 and don't want to share a four person compartment with anybody else, you will need to book four tickets.
Female only couchette compartments are available.

The sleeping cabins are priced according to how many people will be occupying them during the journey.
Solo travellers can either:

• Book a bed in a triple cabin and accept that you may share it with up to two other people (cheapest).
• Book a bed in a double cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a single cabin, to ensure privacy (most expensive).

Pairs of travellers, who are happy to share a cabin, can either:

• Book two beds in a triple cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a double cabin.

Groups of 3 travellers will have sole occupancy of a triple cabin, but groups of four or more will need to split the accommodation to whichever suits them; 2 x double cabins, or 1 x triple + 1 x single etc.

From Bruxelles to London

Book with Eurostar

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 330 days ahead of the travel date.

Also note that on the Eurostar booking site, it only uses the English name of the main station in the Belgian capital - so enter 'Brussels Midi' into its search

The price shown above is the standard, most heavily discounted, one way Standard Class price.

Eurostar frequently offers special fare/deals promotions, so the price you see on the home page of the Eurostar website MAY be cheaper.
But check the terms and conditions of these deals BEFORE making a booking. The special price MAY depend on additional factors, such as the need to book a return trip and/or MAY not be available when making day trips.

The different types of ticket summarised

Also worth knowing is that when travelling by Eurostar you can choose between three classes of service, and this also impacts on the exchanges and refunds of what Eurostar refers to as 'Flexible tickets'

Customers can exchange tickets for travel in Standard and Standard Premier class multiple times without paying an exchange fee, as long as tickets are exchanged 7 days or more before the departure time of their individual journey
Though if the new ticket option is more expensive the difference in price will need to be paid, but if it is cheaper the price difference won't be refunded.
But make the exchange within 7 days of the individual journey and an admin fee of £30 will need to be paid, along with the price difference
Tickets to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class are not refundable.

In contrast tickets to travel in Business Premier Class can be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.

Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here

Using Rail Passes on Eurostar:

Rail pass users can now pay reservation fees to travel on Eurostar trains, in a similar manner to other international European high speed trains.

The new rail pass reservation fees are similar to the cheapest single journey ticket prices, but as those cheapest tickets can sell out quickly, it's likely that the rail pass reservation fees will save money.

You can purchase these online with no booking fees via B-Europe - or they ARE now available on the Eurostar website.
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on Eurostar services to sell out days or weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.

You can obtain a rail pass reservations without paying a booking fee at Eurostar stations.
However, if you want to do this on the day of travel be prepared to be flexible re: the train you will take.

If you are a UK resident, your rail pass + reservation is only valid if you take a train from the UK on the first day that your pass is valid for and return to the UK on the final day that you will be using a pass.