Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: usually open around 6 months ahead of the travel date.
Worth knowing before booking Cologne/Köln to London train journey tickets online:
- Eurostar is now only offering tickets for the journey options which involve taking a combination of Eurostar + Thalys trains
- DB only offers tickets for a combination of Eurostar + ICE trains
- B-Europe and Trainline sell tickets for end-to-end journeys which involve taking either an ICE train or a Thalys train on from Bruxelles.
Whether you take a combination of Eurostar + Thalys trains, or Eurostar + ICE trains, matters with respect to the terms and conditions around ticket exchanges post -booking.
That's due to the operators of each of the three services having different ticket policies, which they apply to each of their respective trains.
There is no 'blanket policy' around ticketing terms, regardless of which combination of trains will be used on the end-to-end journey.
Eurostar ticket terms summary:
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.
ICE ticket terms summary:
As applied by DB the national rail company in Germany because it operates these trains.
- Super Sparpreis Europa / Super Saver Fare Europe tickets: cannot be exchanged or refunded.
- Sparpreis Europa / Saver Fare Europe: these tickets can be 'refunded; up until the day of departure for admin of €10. The refund will be in the form of a voucher, matching the value of the price paid.
So in effect these tickets can be exchanged for a fee of €10 and the difference in price will need to be paid.
- Flexible tickets can be refunded free of charge with payment returned, but after the travel date a €19 admin fee is applied.
So in effect if you want to 'exchange' flexible tickets, you can use the cost you originally paid towards the cost of a re-booking, but the new price will likely be higher.
Thalys ticket terms summary:
Tickets for travel in Standard and Comfort Class can be can exchanged 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 €15 will need to be paid, along with the price difference
Though tickets can be refunded up until 7 days before departure, but are non refundable in the 7 days before departure.
So note that the cheaper tickets to travel by the Thalys trains can be refunded (up until 7 days), but the cheaper tickets for the ICE trains can't.
Tickets for travel in Premium Class are exchangeable without payment of an admin fee up to the departure time, but price difference between the old and new tickets will need to be paid.
Premium Class tickets can up refunded until one hour after the departure time.
Seat Reservations:
Book a 1st class ticket(s) and your seats will automatically be assigned on all trains, but reservations are optional in 2nd class on the ICE train between Bruxelles/Brussels and Cologne/Köln - when booking the Super Sparpreis Europa / Super Saver Fare Europe tickets.
On B-Europe, for the journey options involving travelling by the ICE trains with 2nd class Super Sparpreis Europa / Super Saver Fare Europe tickets, the reservation will be pre-selected - and included within the price shown.
You can opt to remove it and travel at a cheaper price
On Trainline you will need to proactively add the reservation.
A big plus of booking the Eurostar direct on Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility - which enables you to change the seat that you will have been initially assigned when making a booking.
Click on the 'train details' for more information.
What if you miss a booked connection in Bruxelles:
There's no getting away from this being a complicated scenario in terms of explaining what the options are, because it matters what type of tickets you have been issued with.
This 'type of ticket' in this scenario isn't to do with what class you have opted to travel by, or the type of ticket you have booked, instead it matters whether you have been issued with a 'through' ticket, or a 'bundle of tickets' - which equates to tickets per train.
Because there is relatively new E.U. legislation which applies to through tickets.
In effect 'the terms' for 'through tickets' now protect travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays , in non-exceptional circumstances, and this includes expenditure on hotel fees (up to a limit) if an overnight stay is required in Bruxelles.
Eurostar classifies end-to-end journeys involving Thalys + Eurostar trains as 'through tickets', but it classifies journeys involving ICE + Eurostar trains as being booked as a ticketing bundle - and this applies regardless of the agent used when booking tickets.
Hence Eurostar only sells the combination of Thalys + Eurostar trains.
Though these new E.U. 'rules' protecting against financial loss don't apply in the exceptional circumstances causing a delay to the Eurostar, which can include - extreme weather conditions, the behaviour of a third party such as persons on the track; and on-board emergencies.
There is also an Agreement of Journey Continuation Policy, the AJC, which Thalys and DB - the operator of the ICE trains has signed up to, but Eurostar hasn't.
Though both DB, the operator of the ICE train, and Eurostar are members of The Railteam Alliance which offers 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:
- 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 'issues regarding missed connection and cancellations' should be 'handled' by Railteam's HOTNAT policy.
Though HOTNAT can't be applied if the arrival into Bruxelles is after the final Eurostar of the day has departed for Londo
Much more info is available on this ticketing guide
Rail Pass Users:
A combination of ICE + Eurostar trains will save money.
Reservations are optional on the ICE trains, but comparatively expensive reservation fees are compulsory on the Thalys trains.
Click the Eurostar train info on how to book rail pass reservations on the Eurostar
