Eurostar to Amsterdam - Stopping Short at Rotterdam

[455refurb]

Hi all,

I have a ticket to Amsterdam on Eurostar for a business trip but for whatever reason hotel prices on my first night are absolutely astronomical (schoolboy error in not checking before booking!).

Rotterdam is looking far more reasonable on that first night - would I be able to exit the station if I got off the train at Rotterdam with a ticket to Amsterdam? I'd really like to avoid having to double back.

Thanks in advance!

 

[30907]

Should be no problem as there are no exit ticket checks.

Apologies - I forgot NS stations were all gated.

 

[cyclebike]

No problem getting off the train; whether the ticket will get you through the gateline though, no idea...

 

[island]

Eurostar won’t stop you.

As others mention, your Eurostar ticket might not let you out the ticket gates. If you’re travelling onward to another local station like Rotterdam-Blaak you can check in with your contactless card or OV-chipkaart on the platform validators, or buy an e-ticket on the NS website or app. You could also buy a short distance e-ticket to Rotterdam-Centraal and try scanning that to get out, though I’m not sure whether that will work if the system sees it wasn’t scanned at the start of your journey.

 

[Trainbike46]

If I remember correctly most international e-tickets issued to NS stations don't actually validate anything (except date of travel in some cases), but are just a signal to the gate to ask it to let you through, so you should have no issues getting out at Rotterdam with a ticket to Amsterdam.

If the gate doesn't let you out (the gates don't always correctly read all international e-tickets), either ask a member of staff or the "i" button next to the gateline to let you through. As I understand it, stopping short is always allowed in the Netherlands, so this shouldn't present any issues.

As others have stated, if you are continuing with a domestic NS train you can either buy an e-ticket in the NS app, or check-in on a yellow platform validator with a contactless bank card or a OV-chipkaart

 

[VauxhallandI]

Hi all,

I have a ticket to Amsterdam on Eurostar for a business trip but for whatever reason hotel prices on my first night are absolutely astronomical (schoolboy error in not checking before booking!).

Rotterdam is looking far more reasonable on that first night - would I be able to exit the station if I got off the train at Rotterdam with a ticket to Amsterdam? I'd really like to avoid having to double back.

Thanks in advance!

Yes we were going to Amsterdam 12/5 but have changed our plan to Rotterdam for the same reason. Any idea what is happening out there as it can’t be sustainable surely?

 

[freddie1729]

Rotterdam is looking far more reasonable on that first night - would I be able to exit the station if I got off the train at Rotterdam with a ticket to Amsterdam? I'd really like to avoid having to double back.

I doubt the NS staff at Rotterdam would inspect your ticket too closely. I was let out at Amsterdam CS with a Eurostar ticket just to Rotterdam. It didn't work on the barrier but the staff member on the gate waved us through.

 

[sprunt]

I did the same thing in March 2020, and I was able to leave Rotterdam station without an issue.

 

[zero]

I used an Amsterdam Eurostar ticket to exit and enter Amsterdam Centraal for the rest of the day, mainly just to walk through

 

[455refurb]

Yes we were going to Amsterdam 12/5 but have changed our plan to Rotterdam for the same reason. Any idea what is happening out there as it can’t be sustainable surely?

It's quite possibly an event at the RAI centre which is a massive conference, exhibition and performance centre. Amsterdam doesn't have enough hotel capacity so if they have a big show on it pushes the prices up hugely. I usually check first but completely forgot on this occasion!

Thank you everyone for your advice and thoughts, I've now booked a room in Rotterdam and saved a packet. Much appreciated!