How to take the optimum rail journey from London to Hamburg

Most of the time this will be a straightforward end-2-end journey showcasing the best of 21st century European rail travel.

However, before booking this trip it's worth being aware of the following:

• The connections with a total journey time of around nine hours, are all dependent on making a 20 min connection between trains at Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station.
  And these journeys also tend to be the cheapest option on this route.
• But the connection is not guaranteedthe ICE train on to Koln/Cologne will depart no more than around 10 mins late, irrespective of when the Eurostar from London will actually be arriving.
• Though you won’t have to buy new tickets/reservations, in the event of a Eurostar arriving too late in Brussels/Bruxelles to make the connection - see the 'Ticket Information' notes.
• But if you opt to depart London after midday, you won't be arriving in Hamburg by the end of the day if the Eurostar doesn't get to Bruxelles in time.

Due to the length of the route, this journey is also susceptible to schedule changes.

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 departing London at around 06:15 on Monday to Friday or shortly after 11:00 daily, the Eurostar from London will arrive at the same part of Midi station that the train on to Koln/Cologne will depart from.

If you depart London at around 06:15, which is usually an option on Monday to Friday, the journey option sold by the ticket agents will allow more than an hour to make the connection into the train on to Koln/Cologne.

The end-to-end journey time will be around 30 to 40mins faster when travelling on by ICE train, because the time between arrival and departure in Bruxelles will only be around 20mins.
Though when the transfer between trains is around 20 mins, you will need to focus on heading to the onward train - if you have to pass through security checks, making the connection will take at least 10 mins.
So don't head to a store to buy a drink, or find a bathroom etc, head for the train A.S.A.P.

If you opt to depart London on the train which typically leaves shortly after 13:00, you won't be able to arrive in Hamburg by the end of the day if you miss the connection of under 20mins.

The connection in Koln/Cologne:

Regardless of the departure time from London, on the usual timetable, the connecting time in Koln Hbf, between the arrival of the train from Brussels/Bruxelles and the departure of a train on to Hamburg is always around 50-55min.
There is at least 1 x train per hour from Koln Hbf to Hamburg- so if the train from Bruxelles arrives too late and you have reserved on the Koln to Hamburg service. you can swap your reservations to a subsequent train free of charge.
If you haven't made reservations you can just hop on the next train to depart.

Worth knowing before booking London to Hamburg 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:

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 don't need to have booked the ticket with Eurostar
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.

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 name of the ticket you have booked, instead it matters whether you have been issued with a 'through' ticket, or a 'bundle of tickets' (in other words separate tickets per train).

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'.

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 Cologne/Köln, 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 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 results in a missed connection into an ICE train and and overnight stay in Bruxelles is then required, the overnight accommodation costs won't be covered.
• 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:

Rail pass users need to make reservations on the Eurostar and more information about how to do this online is available if you click the Eurostar train details.

Choose connections which involve taking an ICE train between Brussels/Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne and you won’t HAVE to reserve on the ICE train(s).
It can be a good idea to plan a journey so that if need be you can can hop on the next ICE train.

So this is a much cheaper option than journeys that involve taking a Eurostyar Thalys train, on which rail pass users have to pay comparatively expensive rail pass reservation fees.