News

Eurostar drops Belgian offer

7 Dec 2010 by BusinessTraveller

Eurostar’s free rail travel offer within Belgium has been scrapped as part of a commercial decision.

The long-standing concession, under which a London-Brussels passenger taking the high-speed train service could continue to any domestic Belgian destination free of charge simply by showing his or her Eurostar ticket, has been replaced by a similar offer for Holland.

There have been reports that some passengers, unaware of the new rules, have been surcharged on board Belgian trains and, in one case, subjected to a fine by railway staff. Eurostar has now beefed up its website, displaying a prominent advisory box when passengers book a London-Brussels ticket.

Eurostar says that a London to Brussels Midi ticket would allow the passenger to proceed to another main station in the city, such as Centraal, free of charge. This is important because Brussels Midi is not located in a nice area. By contrast Centraal is close to the Grand Place and its selection of fine hotels.

But passengers wishing to proceed beyond Brussels must now purchase add-on fares. Fortunately these are at preferential rates of €6 one-way or €12 return for holders of Eurostar standard class tickets. Passengers travelling with Eurostar Standard Premium or Business Premium tickets pay first class add-on rates of €8 or €16 respectively.

The “Any Dutch Station” deal is available to passengers booking through tickets between London and Holland via Brussels. Tickets start from £89 return in standard class when booked through eurostar.com

To use the Dutch offer, you travel London-Brussels then continue with normal Belgian and Dutch rail services. Note that this special ticket does not allow travel on the Thalys high-speed service running along the Brussels-Amsterdam corridor.

For more information visit eurostar.com.

Report by Alex McWhirter

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