How to take the thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Amsterdam

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 longer.

The current timetable comprises departures from St. Panrcras International at:

• 06:16 on Monday to Friday
• 08:16 daily
• 11:04 daily
• 18:04 not Saturday

If the timings of these direct trains don't suit, you can travel on one of the (usually) much more frequent alternative journey options which involve changing trains in Bruxelles/Brussels.

Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CS

All trains also call at: Bruxelles - Midi and Rotterdam Centraal
These trains do not call at Ebbsfleet International or Ashford International.
These trains also don't call at Antwerpen-Centraal or Schiphol Airport

Departing from London

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.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 330 days ahead of the travel date.
Seats are assigned when booking tickets.

The prices shown below are the most heavily discounted, one way Standard Class prices

The booking path on the Eurostar website is comparatively straightforward and an advantage of booking direct with Eurostar, is that it offers its ticket purchasers the ability to choose specific seats from a seating plan (after the booking has been made).

The ticketing terms

Also worth knowing is that when travelling by Eurostar you can choose between three classes of service, but it isn't possible to select different types of ticket.

This 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 Eurail and InterRail Passes:

If you will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail 'Global Pass' you will need to book a rail pass reservation to travel by these trains.

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, here is evidently limited availability per departure.

It is worth targeting these direct Eurostar services from London to Amsterdam, the reservation fees of, from €35 if you will be using a 2nd class pass and from €43 if you will be using a First Class pass, are similarly priced as the London to Bruxelles journey.

So by taking these direct trains with a Eurail or InterRail pass, you will;

• save money compared to the alternative journey option of taking a Eurostar from London to Bruxelles and then a Thalys train to Amsterdam from Bruxelles
• save time compared to taking a Eurostar to Bruxelles and then an IC train from Bruxelles to Amsterdam.

If you are a UK resident, worth knowing is your rail pass + reservation will only be valid if you take a from the UK on the first day that you will be using your pass.
You cannot use an InterRail Pass to return to the UK by another route and then travel between the UK and Amsterdam.

If the timings of the direct trains don't suit, the other option for taking the journey by train from London to Amsterdam is to make a connection between trains in Bruxelles-Midi station.

The newly rebranded Eurostar Thalys trains depart the Belgian capital in most hours, hence onward transfers being possible from the Eurostar trains from London, which don't travel further than Bruxelles.
Hence there being more journeys per day available when taking the combination of Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains, compared to travelling direct to Amsterdam.

On the journey options with a total travel time of less than 4hr 50min, the connecting time on to the Eurostar Thalys trains is around 45mins - which should ensure a stress-free transfer at Midi/Zuid station, even if the Eurostar arrives more 20 mins late.

Using rail passes*

There are also comparatively frequent InterCity trains from Bruxelles-Midi to Amsterdam Centraal - with brand new trains gradually being introduced to the route.
They are not high-speed trains and they also divert off of the direct route, so they are typically around a little over an hour slower than the Eurostar Thalys train on the Bruxelles to Amsterdam route.

Users of [Eurail and InterRail passes]/train-ticket-guides/our-guide-to-using-eurail-and-interrail-passes/) don't have to pay reservations on these InterCity trains - because reservations aren't available when travelling by them.

In contrast the rail pass reservation fees on the Eurostar Thalys trains are near the top of the most expensive fees for rail pass users list.

The fees for rail pass users on the direct London to Amsterdam trains are similar to when travelling to Bruxelles, but they tend to sell out faster.
So if they are not available the combination of Eurostar + InterCity trains becomes the cheapest option when using Eurail or InterRail passes.

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.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets on the Eurostar and Eurostar Thalys trains

Eurostar train's general ticket terms:

'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.

What if you miss a booked connection in Bruxelles:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, and it applies to 'through tickets'.

Eurostar classifies end-to-end journeys involving Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains as 'through tickets',
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.

So in summary, SMTJ's understanding is that;

• if a delayed Eurostar causes a missed connection in Bruxelles tickets can be transferred to the next departure
• if a delayed Eurostar in non-exceptional circumstance results in a missed connection into a Eurostar Thalys train AND an overnight stay in Bruxelles is then required, there will be compensation for the cost of the overnight accommodation;
• if exceptional circumstances cause a missed connection into a Eurostar Thalys train, the overnight accommodation costs won't be covered;

Much more info is available on this ticketing guide.

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 on B-Europe
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on specifc Eurostar services to sell weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.

Taking this combination of trains can be a good option if the timings of the direct London to Amsterdam trains don't suit.

In the unlikely event of missing the booked connection in Bruxelles/Brussels, due to a late arriving Eurostar, tickets can be transferred free of charge to a subsequent Eurostar Thalys departure at the SNCB International Ticket Office in Bruxelles-Midi station.