Eurostar to Holland
Historic milestone for international high-speed rail as Eurostar begins operating St Pancras-Amsterdam trains.
PASSENGER trains are now operating between London and Amsterdam. The first commercial Eurostar train left St Pancras International at 0831 on April 4.
Using the company’s Velaro E320s, the services will take passengers to Rotterdam in 3hrs 1min and Amsterdam in 3hrs 41mins.
Tickets are £35 one-way and are designed to compete with airlines, with the operator saying its service emits 80% less carbon per passenger than a flight.
“The departure of our first commercial service to Amsterdam represents a historic milestone for Eurostar and the growth of international high-speed rail,” said Eurostar Chief Executive Mike Cooper.
He added that the potential for the route is significant, with the company comparing the market to that of London-Paris when Eurostar first started operating on that route. Currently more than four million passengers per year use airlines to travel between London and Amsterdam.
Trains leave St Pancras at 0831 and 1731. Return journeys involve passengers using Thalys trains and connecting at Brussels, where passport control and security screening is carried out.
Eurostar operates trains between Amsterdam and Brussels, but these will carry inter-Schengen travellers, with the company saying the connections are longer than for passengers using the Thalys trains.
Eurostar says this is temporary until an agreement is reached between UK and Dutch Governments that will allow passport checks to be carried out in the same way as other Eurostar destinations. They have committed to this being in place by the end of next year. The operator said it is actively working with the governments.
Up to eight Thalys trains from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Brussels provide connections to Eurostar’s Brussels-London service.