From April 4, Amsterdam will be a mere three hour, 41-minute train ride from London thanks to a new direct service from Eurostar.
A new service from Eurostar will run from London to Amsterdam, linking the two European capitals in just three hours and 41 minutes.
The route marks a new milestone in the history of high-speed rail travel between the U.K. and the continent. London-Amsterdam is already a busy travel route for which demand is high, the firm explains, with more than four million passengers traveling the route by air each year. Eurostar is also confident that "the market is the same size as it was when the London-Paris services launched in 1994."
From April 4, two trains a day will leave London St Pancras traveling to Amsterdam, at 8:31 and 17:31. Tickets go on sale February 20 with prices starting from €40 (CAD$62).
Note that when traveling in the opposite direction -- from Amsterdam to London -- passengers will take a Thalys train to Brussels Midi, where passport checks will be carried out, before joining a Eurostar service to the British capital.
Eurostar says that this is a temporary measure until the Dutch and British governments reach an agreement allowing passport checks to be carried out on departure in the Netherlands. The governments hope to have this agreement in place by the end of 2019, allowing Eurostar passengers to enjoy direct services in both directions.
The new services also cut the journey time to Brussels, running non-stop from London to the Belgian capital in one hour 48 minutes, saving 17 minutes.
