Update: This planned service never actually took off. See my new post for new October 2020 start details.
If you want to travel from London to Amsterdam by Eurostar tomorrow - there are three direct services (at 07:16, 11:04 and 17:16) which take 3:55, 4:17 (with a stop in Lille) and 3:55 respectively. Eurostar website will also offer you another four services which take between 4:40 and 4:49 and include a change of train in Brussels.
However if you want to travel from Amsterdam to London by Eurostar tomorrow there are no direct services - because there currently aren't any UK immigration desks at Amsterdam Central station. So not only do you need to change train at Brussels, you also need to pass through immigration there - adding even more time to your journey. This means that on a normal weekday the Amsterdam-Brussels-London trip will take 4:47, 4:51, 5:00, 5:18 or even 5:50 if you're unlucky.
That changes onThursday 30th April - when the UK Border Force starts operating in Amsterdam, and the first direct train departs at 18:47 taking 4:10 to get to St Pancras International. On Friday 1st May they open their desks twice - for an 07:47 departure, and then again for the 18:47 service - both of which take 4:10 to get to London.
Exhausted after those three shifts, the take the weekend off - so you're back to clearing immigration in Brussels. The connections on the four services that Eurostar offer aren't as good as during weekdays - so the journey times are between 5:22 and 6:25 (which includes 104 minutes in Brussels).
But from the following weekend they do a shift every Saturday morning for the 07:47 departure, and another every Sunday evening for the 18:47 service to London.
Rotterdam also gets a UK border post fromMonday 18th May. Up until then the journey time on the Thalys to Brussels, clearing immigration there, and then the Eurostar to London is between 3:59 and 5:07 on a weekday. At weekends it's quite similar, ranging from 4:04 to 5:07
The 07:47 service from Amsterdam will depart Rotterdam at 08:28 (and the 18:47 Amsterdam service at 19:28) and the total journey time for these direct trains will be 3:29
The UK Border Force staff get the first weekend off. But from Saturday 30th May the once daily Eurostar weekend service from Amsterdam is available to catch from Rotterdam.
The 3:29 journey time for the direct service compares with 3:16 for the early morning and evening London to Rotterdam trains, and 3:28 for the late morning direct service.
Whilst it's obviously a much more relaxing (and productive) trip not to have to change trains and clear immigration half way through your journey - the actual time savings aren't as large as you might imagine. For Amsterdam departures the direct services takes a minimum of 37 minutes off your journey (although more typically 50 minutes). And for Rotterdam departures it reduces your journey time by at least 30 minutes.
Part of the reason why the time savings aren't greater is that the direct services from Amsterdam take 15 minutes longer than the two faster services in the opposite direction. And from Rotterdam the trip to London takes 13 minutes longer than vice versa.
Maybe Eurostar will be able to squeeze these minutes out of a future timetable - but for now you're left with a 30 - 50 minute saving, and a more comfortable journey.
However if you want to travel from Amsterdam to London by Eurostar tomorrow there are no direct services - because there currently aren't any UK immigration desks at Amsterdam Central station. So not only do you need to change train at Brussels, you also need to pass through immigration there - adding even more time to your journey. This means that on a normal weekday the Amsterdam-Brussels-London trip will take 4:47, 4:51, 5:00, 5:18 or even 5:50 if you're unlucky.
That changes on
Exhausted after those three shifts, the take the weekend off - so you're back to clearing immigration in Brussels. The connections on the four services that Eurostar offer aren't as good as during weekdays - so the journey times are between 5:22 and 6:25 (which includes 104 minutes in Brussels).
But from the following weekend they do a shift every Saturday morning for the 07:47 departure, and another every Sunday evening for the 18:47 service to London.
Rotterdam also gets a UK border post from
The 07:47 service from Amsterdam will depart Rotterdam at 08:28 (and the 18:47 Amsterdam service at 19:28) and the total journey time for these direct trains will be 3:29
The UK Border Force staff get the first weekend off. But from Saturday 30th May the once daily Eurostar weekend service from Amsterdam is available to catch from Rotterdam.
The 3:29 journey time for the direct service compares with 3:16 for the early morning and evening London to Rotterdam trains, and 3:28 for the late morning direct service.
Whilst it's obviously a much more relaxing (and productive) trip not to have to change trains and clear immigration half way through your journey - the actual time savings aren't as large as you might imagine. For Amsterdam departures the direct services takes a minimum of 37 minutes off your journey (although more typically 50 minutes). And for Rotterdam departures it reduces your journey time by at least 30 minutes.
Part of the reason why the time savings aren't greater is that the direct services from Amsterdam take 15 minutes longer than the two faster services in the opposite direction. And from Rotterdam the trip to London takes 13 minutes longer than vice versa.
Maybe Eurostar will be able to squeeze these minutes out of a future timetable - but for now you're left with a 30 - 50 minute saving, and a more comfortable journey.
