Making a transfer between trains in Bruxelles seems to be the best option for a journey by train from London to Frankfurt (Main) - the Eurostar from London and the ICE train on to Germany use the same station in the Belgian capital.
However, the trains on to Frankfurt typically depart around 20 mins or less after the arrival of the Eurostar -so the options sold by the ticket agents include this combination of trains, which enable the fastest possible end-to-end journey time.
Though if you would rather book an end-to-end journey option, with more time between trains, the ticket agents typically package together journeys which involve having to transfer between different stations in Paris
The Eurostar from London will arrive at Paris Nord and the trains on to Frankfurt will depart from Paris Est.
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.
At Bruxelles-Midi:
When the end-to-end journey time is around 5hr 30min the connection at Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station, between the arrival of a Eurostar from London and the departure of an ICE on to Frankfurt (Main) will be around 20 minutes
Though on Monday to Friday, when taking what is the first Eurostar of the day from London, it usually allows around 1hr 10min to make the transfer - because by taking this train the end-to-end journey time is around 6hr 15min.
Pre-departure security checks are in place at Bruxelles-Midi in the part of the station used by the other international high speed trains - though the ICE trains can be scheduled to depart from voies (platform /tracks) 7 or 8, which are not accessed through international boarding area.
How long it takes to pass through these security checks inevitably varies according to how busy the station is
So it's a good idea:
20 minutes should be enough time, but 15 minutes or less between the arrival time of the Eurostar and departure time of the ICE increases the risk of the missing the connection.
And this connection is not absolutely guaranteed, the ICE train on to Frankfurt (Main) won't usually hang back for more than 5 - 10mins, if the Eurostar from London is running late
4 or 5 x connections per day
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: usually open around 6 months ahead of the travel date.
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
Eurostar's online booking service does not sell tickets for this journey.
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 .
ICE trains ticket terms summary:
Seat Reservations:
Your seats will automatically be reserved on the Eurostar, but seat reservations on the ICE trains are an additional cost unless you book the most expensive type of ticket.
What if you miss a booked connection 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.
There are relatively new E.U. 'rules' protecting against financial loss in the event of a delay, but they only apply to 'through tickets'.
But DB which operates the ICE trains on to Frankfurt, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.
So in usual circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Frankfurt to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at Bruxelles-Midi
However, the AJC does not cover the cost of any overnight accommodation which will need to be booked if the final train of the day on to Frankfurt is missed.
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 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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trainline | * | |
B-Europe | * |
Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi or Amsterdam
Most of the departures between London and Bruxelles will be by the e320 trains, but the e330 trains can be used on some departures, which don't travel beyond Bruxelles.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:
1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.
3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.
4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.
5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France and Belgium.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please go here to say thank you.
Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)
All trains also call at: Aachen; Koln/Cologne and Frankfurt Flughafen/Airport
Most trains also call at: Siegburg/Bonn - connect for Bonn city centre.
This train journey from Bruxelles to Frankfurt is usually a great showcase for 21st century European train travel.
The sleek ICE 3 trains give any journey a wow factor and on virtually all of this route they're either travelling on a custom-built high speed line, or on a conventional railway that has been re-engineered so that the trains can travel faster.
The fastest part of this trip comes between Seigburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Flughafen, when the train will travel at up to 285 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed line.
The end-to-end journey time when travelling by train from London to Frankfurt via Paris is at least 1hr 45mins longer than when travelling via Bruxelles (option 1).
The journey via Paris also involves having to make a transfer between two different stations, but there are two reasons why it can be worth considering:
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.
up to 4 x connections per day
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: usually open around 6 months ahead of the travel date.
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
Eurostar's online booking service does not sell tickets for this journey.
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 .
ICE trains ticket terms summary:
Seat Reservations:
Your seats will automatically be reserved on the Eurostar and on the ICE trains on this route:
What if you miss a booked connection in Paris:
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.
There are relatively new E.U. 'rules' protecting against financial loss in the event of a delay, but they only apply to 'through tickets'.
But DB which operates the ICE trains on to Frankfurt, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.
So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Frankfurt to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at Paris Est
However, the AJC does not cover the cost of any overnight accommodation which will need to be booked if the final train of the day on to Frankfurt is missed.
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.
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trainline | * | |
SNCF Connect | * | |
Rail Europe | * |
Most departures will be by the e320 trains, but the e300 trains can also be used.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with SIX distinct phases and highlights:
1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.
3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.
4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.
5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please go here to say thank you.
Via: Kaiserslautern
This is a journey of four distinct phases.
Via: Strasbourg
This is a journey of three distinct phases.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.