SNCB and NS, the national rail operators of Belgium and the Netherlands, this week launched a new high-speed rail link between Brussels and Amsterdam.
The new ‘Eurocity Direct’ cross-border service operates 16 return journeys per day and will reduce travel time between the two cities by 45 minutes, for a total journey time of two hours and seven minutes. Each train has more than 400 seats and can accommodate 12 bicycles.
The high-speed service is in addition to an existing InterCity rail link between Brussels and Amsterdam, which has been rebranded as ‘EuroCity’. This service now terminates at Rotterdam-Centraal. Eurostar also operates a high-speed link between Amsterdam-Centraal and Brussels-Midi.
The new service departs from Brussels-Midi and stops at Antwerp-Central, Rotterdam-Centraal and Schiphol before arriving at Amsterdam-Zuid. ‘Flex’ fares for the Eurocity Direct service start from €64.10.