Eurostar has announced it will launch a direct service from Amsterdam to London on 30 April, eliminating the need to go through passport control in Brussels on the return journey.
Launched in 2018, the London-Amsterdam service has previously required passengers to change trains in Brussels on the return journey in order to go through passport control.
It has always been the company’s goal to introduce direct services, and from 30 April there will be up to two trains a day travelling direct from Amsterdam to London with stops in Rotterdam and Brussels, with a journey time of four hours and nine minutes.
Services will depart Amsterdam at 0748 Monday to Saturday and 1848 Sunday to Friday.
The company is working to introduce a third daily train and eventually a fourth.
Direct services starting at Rotterdam to London will begin on 18 May. Tickets for both journeys go on sale from 11 February.
The news comes after Eurostar owner SNCF proposed merging the company with sister service Thalys to offer passengers to and from the UK and Europe a wider choice of "green" train services.
Buying Business Travel was on the special inaugural service departing from Amsterdam at 0748 on 4 February, with Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen, minister of infrastructure and water management and Ankie Broekers-Knol, secretary of state for security and justice in the Netherlands, at the station to mark the occasion.
Eurostar CEO Mike Cooper, who was also on board the preview service, pointed out that the announcement is a ‘milestone’ for sustainable travel, with a high-speed train journey between Amsterdam and London resulting in 80 per cent less carbon per passenger than the equivalent flight, according to the company.
Cooper said: “Our services from the UK to the Netherlands have proved very popular with over half a million travellers since launch. Our fully direct service marks an exciting advance for high-speed rail and provides consumers with a comfortable, environmentally friendly alternative to the airlines on one of Europe’s busiest leisure and business routes.”
Cora van Nieuwenhuizen commented: “The direct connection makes the train journey to London easier and faster. Checks in Brussels will no longer be necessary, saving travellers an hour of travel time. This way the train really becomes a fully-fledged alternative to the plane.”
Roger van Boxtel, chief executive of NS, added: “Brexit or not, London will be closer from 30 April. Eurostar will take travellers from the centre of Amsterdam to the heart of London in four hours. The international services to Brussels and Paris are already a success, and from today we can now add London. The sustainable train is the future and brings Europeans together.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re continuing to invest in modern, efficient transport links with the continent so our businesses and tourism industry can flourish. The days of passengers being forced to decamp from the train at Brussels to file through passport control will soon be over, as we look forward to direct return high-speed services to Amsterdam and beyond."
Addressing members of the press at St Pancras International on their return to London, Shapps pointed out how timely the Eurostar announcement is, "just four days after the UK left the European Union". But he added: "We may be leaving the EU, but we are certainly not leaving Europe. It is the aim of this government to bring British businesses closer to key markets with better transport links. We intend to discuss further bilateral agreements because Europe is still a vitally important market for Britain."
What it means for business travel
Whatever your thoughts on climate change – or the climate crisis, as many are now calling it – no-one can deny that sustainability, particularly in travel, is coming to the fore. It's a tricky topic for business travel, mainly because many argue that face-to-face meetings are still vitally important when it comes to striking new deals or keeping clients on side – and that will be especially true in post-Brexit Britain as trade agreements lead the way to a changing landscape of relationships for businesses across Europe and the rest of the world.
Speaking to BBT during the journey from Amsterdam to London, Eurostar chief Mike Cooper said the road to more responsible travel starts with providing travellers with more choice – something the company's owner SNCF is hoping to do with the proposed Thalys merger.
"There hasn't really been a wealth of valid alternatives to flying when you talk about travelling from the UK to mainland Europe," Cooper said, "and I think that's what we can now provide with the direct return service.
"And sustainability isn't just a leisure agenda – we know from talking to our corporate customers that reducing their company's carbon emissions is a big task for them. We've introduced a new service whereby we can provide travel managers with data so they can see what they're saving in terms of emissions when their travellers use the train as opposed to the equivalent flight. The journey can also be more productive for those on work trips; it might take longer than a flight, but when you factor in all the starting and stopping involved in going to the airport and getting onto the aircraft, then compare it to a later arrival at the Eurostar terminal and four hours of unbroken time once you're on the train, you can see where there's a savings in terms of productivity."
He also said supporting business travel is high on the agenda for Eurostar. "I feel we've perhaps somewhat neglected the feedback loop from our corporate clients and that's something we're going to continue working on. It's one of the reasons we've started providing emissions data to travel managers."
Cooper reiterated that Eurostar is working closely with local governments to increase the frequency of Amsterdam-London to three or four trains a day. "There's a lot of discussion happening with the KMar [a branch of the Netherlands' Armed Forces that handles border patrol and immigration checks] to gain enough flexibility to add the two daily services we'll be offering from the end of April, and we'll be continuing these important discussions. There are a lot of challenges, both political and technical, but we think there's a huge potential for train travel to connect the whole of Europe."
Watch this space.
eurostar.com
*Disclaimer: Molly Dyson travelled on the inaugural direct service on a press trip, with return train tickets and accommodation in Amsterdam provided by Eurostar