London - Eindhoven

[Zontar]

Out: 3rd July 2022 (10:00 onwards)
Return: 5th July 2022 ( dept no later than 14:00)

Fip card eligible

I have a Eurostar voucher so that part sorted.

Would it be better to go London - Brussels in the first leg?

How do/can you use coupons in a journey that goes through two countries? I.e Brussels - Eindhoven?

Not used the fip system so appreciate some guidance pls.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rvdborgt]

You could get FIP coupons for NMBS/SNCB and NS and use them for the onward journey from Brussels to Eindhoven. You'll need at least two boxes on both coupons.
Alternatively, you can buy a reduced ticket for Brussels - Eindhoven with your FIP reduction card, which should give a 75% discount in Belgium and 50% in the Netherlands.

 

[Zontar]

Are the coupons free travel and you have to book them in advance?

Using a fip card, is there any advantage of booking in advance or just as good using at time of travel?

 

[rvdborgt]

Are the coupons free travel and you have to book them in advance?

Using a fip card, is there any advantage of booking in advance or just as good using at time of travel?

FIP coupons are indeed free travel. I don't know though if and how they're seen by the UK tax authorities (in some countries, something is added to your taxable income for FIP coupons you received, so they're not really free). Also, if you've just started to work for the railways (often less than one year ago), you may not yet qualify for them. There's usually a limited number of FIP coupons you're entitled to each year so if you plan to do more travel in Belgium and/or the Netherlands, you should check how many coupons per year you're entitled to for these countries. Brussels - Eindhoven with FIP discount will not be very expensive (see below).

A FIP card normally doesn't give any advantage of booking in advance, although there are some quota-controlled services like Eurostar or Thalys, where seats for FIP passengers can sell out. For normal tickets, you just get a 50 or 75% discount on the full fare (like in Belgium and the Netherlands). Although in Italy, for long-distance trains, the cheapest public advance fares can be lower than a FIP fare, even when using a FIP coupon. Also, the 75% discount cannot always be given when you buy a ticket on the spot; I don't know if that's possible in Belgium.

Public fares for Brussels - Eindhoven via Breda (single fare in €, from NSI website; NMBS/SNCB is always 1 € more):
Full fare: 21.20 + 15.60 = 36.80
Advance fare (7 days, Mon-Thu): 10.50 + 7.50 = 18.00
Advance fare (7 days, Fri-Sun): 14.00 + 10.00 = 24.00

FIP single fare (75% discount in .be, 25% in .nl): 5.30 + 7.80 = 13.10

The RDG has a lot of documentation here. Especially the section Staff travel in Europe, with the document "Travel tips for Europe" will be of interest to you. It has a general section and a section per country.

 

[biko]

Are the coupons free travel and you have to book them in advance?

Using a fip card, is there any advantage of booking in advance or just as good using at time of travel?

I don't know specifically about FIP, but I do know about advance booking and reservations in general. Basically, advances and reservations don't exist for domestic trains in the Netherlands or Belgium. Only international trains, like Thalys and Eurostar require reservation and have varying prices depending on the booking time. The Intercity between Brussels and Amsterdam cannot be reserved, but does have a cheaper ticket when bought in advance (Early Bird) although you can take any train on the day. I expect that FIP discounts are only applicable to the full walk-up price, but with 50/75% discount, it still is a bit cheaper than Early Bird tickets which have a discount of about 40-50%.

The most logical route is using Intercity Brussels - Amsterdam until Breda and change there for a domestic intercity. So you would have no problems with reservations.

 

[Haywain]

Other posters have covered this quite well, but as a relatively inexperienced travelled in Europe my starting point for cross border travel in Europe is "It's complicated". Thalys services, for example, have what are called global fares for through journeys, and splitting tickets/passes isn't necessarily an option. It is sometimes the case that to use FIP coupons you need to split trains, rather than split tickets. It is possible that you will get advice from more experienced UK based travellers if you post this in the International Transport forum.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Our last holiday abroad was a week in Holland, we went out on the direct Eurostar to Amsterdam which was so easy. On the way back the Thalys was much more expensive. even with FIP and coupons, than the semi fast service. We just showed the NS coupons in Holland and the SNCB coupons in Belgium.

 

[rvdborgt]

Our last holiday abroad was a week in Holland, we went out on the direct Eurostar to Amsterdam which was so easy.

That's also a possibility of course. In July, there should already be more direct Eurostar services to Amsterdam. You can then change at Rotterdam into the IC to Eindhoven. If no FIP coupon is available, FIP discounted domestic tickets in the Netherlands are available from the ticket office only (should be 10 € for a single).

 

[Watershed]

Out: 3rd July 2022 (10:00 onwards)
Return: 5th July 2022 ( dept no later than 14:00)

Fip card eligible

I have a Eurostar voucher so that part sorted.

Would it be better to go London - Brussels in the first leg?

How do/can you use coupons in a journey that goes through two countries? I.e Brussels - Eindhoven?

Not used the fip system so appreciate some guidance pls.

Thanks in advance.

RSTL provide a very useful and detailed guide to FIP travel - called Travel Tips for Europe. This lists the validity of both coupons and discounted travel in each country, along with any restrictions and supplements.

But in essence, yes you can use coupons for a cross-border journey, provided you have coupons that cover all countries passed through, and you're using a participating carrier.

There are some services where you must pay for a reservation to travel, even if you already have coupons. These are all listed in the document linked above.

Otherwise you have the option of buying walk-up tickets at a 75% (in Belgium)/50% (in the Netherlands) discount.

 

[30907]

Other posters have covered this quite well, but as a relatively inexperienced travelled in Europe my starting point for cross border travel in Europe is "It's complicated". Thalys services, for example, have what are called global fares for through journeys, and splitting tickets/passes isn't necessarily an option.

I assume the OP would continue from Brussels on ordinary trains not Thalys anyway - I presume Thalys has Passholder fares/supplements like ES.
As this is a short visit, I would only use coupons if I knew I wouldn't want them later in the year.

 

[Peterthegreat]

I assume you are non-safeguarded and work for a passenger TOC. In which case both you and all your dependents (spouse/partner and children) qualify for free travel on the national railways of Belgium and the Netherlands on two separate occasions per year. You apply for the coupons through Rail Staff Travel and you will receive 4 "boxes" per coupon giving you free travel on the date entered into each box and the following day (until 24.00). There is no cost and, for UK staff, there are no tax implications. Thus if you are taking Eurostar you can either go to Brussels and go forward by services operated by SNCB and NS (not Thalys) using Belgian and Dutch coupons or you can go to Rotterdam or Amsterdam by Eurostar and just use your NS ticket.

 

[Zontar]

I assume you are non-safeguarded and work for a passenger TOC. In which case both you and all your dependents (spouse/partner and children) qualify for free travel on the national railways of Belgium and the Netherlands on two separate occasions per year. You apply for the coupons through Rail Staff Travel and you will receive 4 "boxes" per coupon giving you free travel on the date entered into each box and the following day (until 24.00). There is no cost and, for UK staff, there are no tax implications. Thus if you are taking Eurostar you can either go to Brussels and go forward by services operated by SNCB and NS (not Thalys) using Belgian and Dutch coupons or you can go to Rotterdam or Amsterdam by Eurostar and just use your NS ticket.

That's a great response thanks, exactly what I was after.

When I get said coupons.... presumably I can just use on any service I walk up to? I.e I don't have to notify or book in advance?

Do you just show the guard the coupon, or is it better to go to the booking office and show them and recieve a valid ticket?

 

[Peterthegreat]

That's a great response thanks, exactly what I was after.

When I get said coupons.... presumably I can just use on any service I walk up to? I.e I don't have to notify or book in advance?

Do you just show the guard the coupon, or is it better to go to the booking office and show them and recieve a valid ticket?

The coupon is actually your ticket. Fill in the date and travel! Trains in Belgium and the Netherlands are like those in the UK - no reservations are required (in fact I am not sure whether you can actually make one.) Just avoid Thalys trains where your coupons are not valid.

 

[biko]

in fact I am not sure whether you can actually make one.

No, it’s impossible to reserve domestic trains and the international intercity between Brussels and Amsterdam (see posts 5 and 7)

 

[Watershed]

When I get said coupons.... presumably I can just use on any service I walk up to? I.e I don't have to notify or book in advance?

In Belgium and the Netherlands, on SNCB and NS services, yes. Note that there are other operators who don't participate in FIP or don't accept coupons (e.g. Thalys).

Do you just show the guard the coupon, or is it better to go to the booking office and show them and recieve a valid ticket?

Yes, the coupon is your ticket once you have dated it (in the format DD/MM/YYYY). Each box is valid for the day entered as well as the following day up to 23:59, so you get (up to) 48 hours' validity per box.

You would only go to the ticket office if you wanted to buy an FIP discounted ticket - for example, in case you had ran out of boxes or didn't manage to get coupons in time (as you have to request them 3 weeks in advance). Or if you wanted a seat reservation - but those aren't available on most SNCB or NS services.

 

[Zontar]

Brilliant. Thanks all for helping out someone inexperienced in all things fip related!

 

[Watershed]

Brilliant. Thanks all for helping out someone inexperienced in all things fip related!

No problem - whilst it's a very generous scheme in many ways, FIP is extremely complex. The only thing that's consistent, is that there is no consistency!

British rail staff are very lucky to have such a clear and up-to-date guide from RSTL. Most other countries' railway operators don't seem to produce such guides, leaving staff to guess around. It's certainly worthwhile having downloaded so you can easily check it when you're abroad.

 

[rvdborgt]

British rail staff are very lucky to have such a clear and up-to-date guide from RSTL. Most other countries' railway operators don't seem to produce such guides, leaving staff to guess around. It's certainly worthwhile having downloaded so you can easily check it when you're abroad.

That is very true. I know several non-British rail staff who use the RDG document as a reference because their own employer doesn't provide enough information, or because it's toom much of a hassle to get any information (send mail, wait, get reply, explain in more detail, wait some more, get answer that may or may not be useful...)