Alex McWhirter has his say on the issues facing rail passengers. This month: high-speed rail travel between Brussels and Amsterdam.
Regular journey times on the busy Brussels to Amsterdam corridor have been cut by one-third thanks to Fyra. Following years of delays caused by technical glitches and government funding disputes, the high-speed Belgo-Dutch rail project got under way in December.
It means the Brussels-Amsterdam journey time on ordinary trains has been cut by 55 minutes. The new Fyra trains take two hours one minute for the trip, which is not far behind the one hour 49 minutes taken by Thalys, the other high-speed operator.
Mind you, local media reported that technical problems continued to plague Fyra in the early days of operation. Hopefully, most of these issues will have been ironed out by the time you read this.
It can be said that Fyra has brought high-speed travel to the masses (“the Aldi of high-speed rail” is how one rail critic put it) over this route linking Brussels Midi with Antwerp, Rotterdam Central and Schiphol airport, as well as Amsterdam Central itself. The Hague can be reached with a train change at Rotterdam Central.
Until now, business people wanting a fast trip could opt only for the swish but often more expensive Thalys service, which operates between Paris Nord and Amsterdam via Brussels.
The Thalys trains – owned by the railway administrations of France, Belgium and Germany – are a version of France’s TGV and are designed to cross frontiers. But speed and comfort comes at a price. The cheapest one-way Brussels-Amsterdam ticket with Fyra costs from e25 in standard and e39 in first class. At the time of writing, Thalys had cut its lead-in fares to e29 and e49 as part of a sale in response. Both operators provide roughly an hourly service throughout the working day, and use stretches of the new high-speed line that connects these cities.
Another spin-off from the new high-speed service is the easier access for Belgian travellers flying out of Amsterdam Schiphol airport. Brussels-Schiphol takes one hour 42 minutes with Fyra, or one hour 32 minutes by Thalys.
Brussels airport can boast an acceptable European network but when it comes to long-haul links and overall coverage, it trails Schiphol by some margin. Important international carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Singapore Airlines are absent from Brussels, as are many other long-haul players.
The faster links will provide extra business for Schiphol not only from departing passengers but also international visitors who find they can reach Brussels more easily via Schiphol. Eurostar passengers travelling between London and Amsterdam (via Brussels) will also benefit once this operator sorts itself out. At the time of writing, Eurostar had yet to programme Fyra service into its systems.
All is not perfect, however. Residents of both countries say they preferred the older trains (now withdrawn) because while slower, they had a range of “social” fares administered by discount cards. Still, compared with what UK passengers pay for their trains, Fyra’s lead-in e25 for 200km of high-speed travel between Brussels and Amsterdam is rather a bargain.
The slower trains never needed a reservation whereas Fyra does. However, Fyra has now modified its policy and offers “jump-on” fares for people travelling at the last minute. Its Supersaver fares need only be booked one day ahead, rather than seven. Passengers can book online (sncb-europe.com in Belgium, nshispeed.nl in the Netherlands) or buy from station counters.
There is talk of reinstating a number of slower trains to answer criticism but no details are yet available. Ultimately, government money will be needed, and that’s in short supply.
Note: Shortly after this article went to press, Fyra services were suspended due to technical issues with the trains. For the latest information visit fyra.com, or take part in the discussion on our forum.
