London to Aachen by train

Eurostar is the sole provider of the train service between London and Bruxelles/Brussels, but the high speed train service between Bruxelles/Brussels and Aachen is split between ICE and Eurostar Thalys trains.

The fastest end-to-end journeys from London to Aachen usually involve connecting into the ICE trains at Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid station.
On the journeys with the fastest end-to-end timings of all, the transfer time at Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station, between the arrival of the Eurostar and the departure of the ICE train, is usually around 20mins.

However, the journey options which involve taking a Eurostar Thalys train on from Bruxelles typically allow more than hour to make the connection.

At St Pancras:

Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.

The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

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.

Departing from Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid station:

You will usually* have to pass through security checks before boarding these trains on to Aachen and queues can build up at busy times.

*The security checks are at the entrance to platforms/tracks/voies 3 -6 and these ICE and Thalys trains to Koln are usually scheduled to depart from this part of the station.
But check the departure screens before heading for the security checks, these trains can occasionally be scheduled to leave from platforms/tracks/voies 7 or 8.

Rail Pass Users:

If you take ICE trains on from Bruxelles, you can avoid the reservation fees/supplements on the Eurostar Thalys trains, because you don't have to reserve a seat on the ICE train, so no additional charges have to be incurred.
IF the Eurostar arrives too late to make the connection, then leave your bags in the left-luggage at Midi/Zuid station, explore Bruxelles and then take a later ICE train.

Worth knowing before booking London to Aachen train journey tickets online:

• Eurostar is now only offering tickets for the journey options which involve taking a combination of Eurostar + 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 Eurostar Thalys train on from Bruxelles.
  Note that B-Europe and Trainline can offer two journey options with the same departure time from London, but one option will involve taking an ICE train on from Bruxelles and the other will involve taking a Eurostar Thalys train.

Whether you take a combination of Eurostar + 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:

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 .

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.

Eurostar 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 Eurostar 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:

Your seats will automatically be reserved on the Eurostar and Eurostar Thalys trains, but seat reservations on the ICE trains are optional and are therefore an additional cost - unless you book the most expensive type of ticket.

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 what matters is:

• the reason for the delay to the Eurostar on route to Bruxelles;
• 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.

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 Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains as 'through tickets', but it classifies journeys involving Eurostar + ICE 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 Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys 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.
Under the terms of the AJC the ticket holder can take the next train on to Aachen, regardless of what type of train it is, with no need to book new tickets and the exceptional circumstances don't apply - but the AJC doesn't cover the costs of overnight accommodation.

So in summary SMTJ's understanding is that;

• if a delayed Eurostar causes a missed connection in Bruxelles (which is less likely when making the connection of more than an hour into the Thalys trains) tickets can be transferred to the next departure, regardless of whether it is a Eurostar Thalys train or an ICE train;
• if a delayed Eurostar in non-exceptional circumstance results in a missed booked connection into a Thalys train and and overnight stay in Bruxelles is then required, there will be compensation for the cost of the overnight accommodation;
• if exceptional circumstances cause a missed booked connection into a Eurostar Thalys train the overnight accommodation costs won't be covered;
• if a delayed Eurostar results in a missed booked connection into an ICE train and and overnight stay in Bruxelles is then required, the overnight accommodation costs won't be covered.

Much more info is available on this ticketing guide