Eurostar has confirmed that its long-awaited direct service
from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London will launch on 26 October after
receiving the go-ahead from European governments.
The high-speed rail operator had plans to launch the
non-stop service in April, but the impact of Covid-19 travel restrictions forced the company to
cancel the London-Amsterdam route until earlier this week.
Following the signing of a new treaty between the UK,
France, Belgium and the Netherlands last month, the company can now launch the direct
return service, which will allow trains to skip the current stop in Brussels
for security and immigration clearance.
Trains from London arrive in Rotterdam in three hours and 30
minutes and in Amsterdam in three hours and 52 minutes, while the return
service from Amsterdam takes four hours and nine minutes. Passengers will still
have the option of catching the Thalys train from Amsterdam to Brussels, where
they will have to go through security and immigration before transferring to a
Eurostar train back to London.
Eurostar will begin selling flexible tickets for the route
from 1 September, which allow passengers to change their booking multiple times
without an exchange fee up to 14 days prior to departure. Customers will only
have to pay the difference if they choose a more expensive fare and will not
receive a refund if their new ticket is cheaper than the original. This could
be especially appealing for travellers given that the UK government has
recently added the Netherlands back onto its list of countries from which
incoming travellers must quarantine on arrival.
As with all Eurostar services, the new route will include
the requirement for all passengers to wear a mask on board and in stations,
while a new seat map enables social distancing between passengers.