London to Amsterdam Eurostar route to start in April in spite of problems

For those whose companies are relocating to Europe pre-Brexit, as well as for Brit expats already in the Netherlands and Belgium, a new super-fast Eurostar service will soon link Amsterdam directly to London.

The service is tipped to start a no-holds-barred contest between train and plane providers, with the Eurostar possibly ahead on points already for its 3-hour 41-minute journey at a one-way cost as low as €40. Ticket sales begin next Tuesday, and there’s a scheduled stop at Rotterdam before heading to the Channel Tunnel and London’s St Pancras station.

The first train will leave on April 4, with two return trips every day. But, and it’s a big but, politics are again intervening to take the gloss off a great, carbon emissions-friendly innovation. The service itself was announced five years ago, but has been delayed time and time again by failures to agree on passport controls and immigration. Even now, the Eurostar portion of the return trip from London to Amsterdam will need to end at Brussels to allow the necessary immigration controls and security screening. Onward transportation to Amsterdam will be via a Thalys express, luckily also high-speed, and direct return journeys are expected to commence by the end of 2019.

With the Netherlands shooting up the popularity list for business and tourism, the new service is a serious threat to established airlines such as Ryanair, EasyJet and even British Airways, especially for travellers based in London. St Pancras Station is centrally located and far easier to access than either of London’s two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, although London City Airport in Docklands has its uses. A price war is expected once the Eurostar service is fully established, and may well save money for many of the annual four million airline passengers. A key advertising tactic for the route is expected to stress the London/Amsterdam journey’s 80 per cent lower carbon emissions when compared with flights.