The direct Eurostar route between the Netherlands and London will launch on October 26, Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) and Eurostar have announced.
The existing Eurostar route between the Netherlands and London St Pancras has to stop in Brussels for passport checks, but the new route will instead have passport checks in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
This change will shave a whole hour off the travel time. The journey between Amsterdam and London will take four hours, and between Rotterdam and London only three and a half hours. Perfect for a weekend away in the English capital!
The direct service was set to launch in April, however, the coronavirus lockdown in the Netherlands meant the final stages of implementing passport control could not be carried out. But, thanks to a treaty signed by the Dutch government, the service could be launched earlier than initially expected. Roger van Boxtel, CEO of NS, said: “Due to corona, we have had to wait longer for the start, but the number of international travellers will gradually increase again. It is great news that we can therefore offer travellers between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom the choice of the sustainable train.”
Tickets for the new service go on sale on September 1, from 46 euros for a single journey. NS has said travellers can book tickets up to six months in advance, so you can already start thinking about plans for the festive period (should the coronavirus pandemic allow it).
With the coronavirus pandemic in mind, the two companies have also revealed travellers who decide to book tickets will have extra flexibility when it comes to changing bookings. All tickets can be changed, free of charge, up to 14 days before departure.
The service is currently set to run twice a day, with departures at 7:47am and 4:47 pm in Amsterdam, and 8:28 and 5:25 in Rotterdam.