Eurostar to Brussels
by JFC AdminAs I collect Flying Blue miles I never really considered Eurostar an option until last August, this was the time when airport security took a turn for the worse and for a short while all carryon luggage was banned from UK airports.
As I needed to travel a few days after this ban was in place I decided it was a good time to try Eurostar. Now Eurostar gets most of my business between London and Paris and sometimes Brussels too. Although London City is still not too bad, Heathrow had hit new lows once the new security regulations came into place (and it was a stressful enough experience before these rules came into force). To make things worse, Air France fly from Terminal 2 which has no security fast track for Flying Blue Elite or business class passengers. Eventually it’s planned that all SkyTeam airlines will join KLM in Terminal 4 which will improve things dramatically.
The last trip I booked on Eurostar was to Brussels in Leisure Select. Eurostar trains typically have three booking classes; Standard, Leisure Select and Business Premier. Both Leisure Select and Business Premier are in First Class carriages and offer the same level of on-board service. However, Business Premier allows you access to the lounge at the station and also flexible tickets, the Leisure Select offering does not give you lounge access and the tickets are restricted. American Express Platinum cardholders are allowed to access the lounge regardless of ticket type.
The train I booked was the 18:11 Friday departure from Waterloo (services will move to St. Pancras mid November 2007 - this will allow the Eurostar to use a new high speed line further reducing journey times). The journey is scheduled to take just over 2 hours 20 minutes.
I booked online and opted to have my tickets posted to me, it’s also an option to collect at the station. Just like most rail services e-ticketing is not an option. For a return in Leisure Select it cost me £149 which I consider excellent value for the service given, Standard Class tickets for the same time trains came to just under £100 for a non-flexible ticket.
Getting to Waterloo is easy for me, it’s a quick walk to Bank station followed by the Waterloo and City line which goes direct to Waterloo. The Eurostar station is clearly signposted from the tube. I arrived at the station at 17:30 which was a bit early, but it means I should still make my train even if there’s problems on the tube.
The procedure is a bit different that boarding a regular train, the check in procedure is just a case of placing your ticket in an automatic barrier but after that you have to go through security and immigration. This is not a major problem as there’s less rules to worry about than at the airport so things go much quicker, usually under five minues to get through. Going through immigration was easy, Eurostar has passport control on departure so when you arrive at your destination you don’t have any more queues to bother with. This means that you go through French passport control while at Waterloo. As this is a train, you take your luggage into the carriage with you where there is plenty of luggage storage space, this means no waiting for luggage on arrival.
Once the train is ready for boarding you can take your seat and relax while you wait for your departure time, announcements on board were made in English, French and Dutch. Initially the train starts off slowly as it goes through Central London on lines that are shared with other train companies, once it reaches the countryside the view gets better and the train speeds up.
Once the train gets going the first drinks service starts and menus are handed out. It should be noted that the standard menu does not have any options for special dietary requirements, special meals should be ordered at the time of booking or failing that at least 24 hours before departure.
This time the menu featured the following:
To start:
Ricotta wrapped in ham, potato salad with herb oil.
Main course:
Traditional beef lasagne
or
Cod fillet with bulgur wheat, with summer vegetables and provencale sauce
Followed by:
Raspberry cranachan*, creme anglaise
Coastal cheddar
* Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert made with fruit, oats and cream, originally made with “Crowdie”, a Scottish soft cheese
The meal is served in the same way as an airline would serve them, the meals were presented on a tray. The meals were of a decent quality, better than what you’d get on an airline for a flight of this duration and definitely a lot better than what you’d get on a short flight to Brussels or Paris. Drinks were freely available, a selection of wines, champagne, beer, tea, coffee, not sure about spirits - I’ll have to check next time. The service was excellent and so if you wanted another drink it was very easy to catch someone walking down the aisle and they were always happy to help. Considering the price of a business class flight I have to say that Leisure Select offered excellent value and a superior quality product to the airlines.
The journey was so relaxing it was hard to believe 2 hours and 20 minutes had passed, but my watch told me it had. As passport control had been completed at Waterloo all I had to do was grab my luggage from the luggage rack, walk off the train and follow the signs to the taxi rank. It couldn’t have been easier.
It’s worth mentioning that free food and drink is available only to passengers who travel First Class (i.e. Leisure Select or Business Premier), Standard Class passengers can buy food and drink from the on board bars, there’s two on each train. Alternatively, you can bring your own food and drink on board.
When you consider the benefits of the train (shorter check-in times, stations in the city centre itself, competitive pricing, better premium class offerings) it’s easy to see how this is becoming a better alternative to flying. When you take into account the time it takes to get to the airport, the time it takes to check in, go through security and collect your luggage it can often be the case that the train will be quicker in real terms, plus you spend more of your time sitting down and relaxing rather than standing in queues. If you live in London and have to travel to Brussels or Paris then give it a go sometime. The ticket to Brussels is also valid for onward connections by rail to any other Belgian station, it’s not something I used this time but I’ve used it in the past.
One criticism, I was not too keen on the facilities available in the international terminal part of the station, this is set to improve once they move their terminal to St Pancras. At the moment there’s not many places to relax, and what there is gets crowded quickly.