waterloo to Brussels

[starmaster]

Hi, I have been looking at booking a 'through ticket' from my home town to Brussels using Eurostar site which is great as it saves me money rather than booking them separately. The results come through fine but my question is that it only gives me an hour to get from Waterloo to St.Pancreas on underground to make the Euro connection. But in the small print on website it tells you that you must be their at least 45mins before departure to get through customs etc. I have emailed Eurostar but not had a reply. Is it giving me enough time? Next question is if I booked this and missed my connection due to not enough time would I be able to get onto the next Eurostar train. Thanks for help
Dave

 

[Wolfie]

The TfL website (see link) shows Waterloo to St Pancras as taking approx 14mins (Bakerloo line, change cross platform at Oxford Circus to the Victorie line, exit at Kings Cross St Pancras). The Eurostar minimum check-in is actually 30mins. Even so I would be a little twitched at only having an hour as it leaves very little time for contingencies.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk

I believe what you are likely to be offered as a "through ticket" is a ticket valid under CIV rules (others will doubtless give a fuller explanation) and as such yes you would be put on the next train if you were delayed due to transport issues. Be aware, dependent on the time of day, that the next Eurostar train might be up to two hours later.

 

[starmaster]

Thanks Wolfie, thinking on it if they only allow an hour between, and it was an hour for which ever one I chose then Eurostar must be quite confident that you have the time to be able to make the connection otherwise everybody would be complaining about it.

 

[radamfi]

As an aside, there are regular trains from Waterloo to Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi, taking about 24 minutes:

http://mobility-brochures.b-rail.be/fr/content/download/1370/9889/file/L124_FR.pdf

 

[Gordon]

I have not tested your journey as I don't know where your starting station is, but most of the Waterloo - St Pancras transfer times are 70 mins or more, so 60 mins appears to be at the lower end of the threshold used by Eurostar.

If booked through Eurostar it must be official therefore you presumbaly have some comeback if the train to Waterloo is late.

However I'd prefer a longer gap, given the 30 min min check in time and allowing for security queues, underground problems etc.

One option depending on your luggage etc is to use just the northern line from Waterloo to Euston then walk (about 15 minutes Euston to St Pancras International (Midland Road entrance)

 

[transmanche]

One option depending on your luggage etc is to use just the northern line from Waterloo to Euston then walk (about 15 minutes Euston to St Pancras International (Midland Road entrance)

Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus and then Victoria line to King's Cross St Pancras is generally the faster and easier option. (The change at Oxford Circus is cross-platform.)

 

[johnnychips]

The internet options given on the Eurostar don't give much time to change in London. When we go from Donny to Brussels we like to have a beer/kebab in London, so we book by phone and take a train an hour earlier than suggested.

+44 (0)1233 617 575

Very helpful staff indeed.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Are you restricted to using a specific train from your home town into Waterloo or is it merely a suggested connection?

If the latter, then you could just get an earlier train in order to give yourself a safety cushion of time.

 

[Greenback]

To be honest, that connection time wouldn't bother me too much, as the through ticket is protected should there be a delay. But it's good advice from Peter to get an earlier train in if you can and you are worried about being short of time.

In my experience, Eurostar have never enforced the 30 minute check in rule. It's there to encourage people not to leave it until the last minute and swamp security causing delays to despatching the train. So it should be possible to get through at 25 or even 20 minutes before departure, unless the barriers have recently been programmed with a cut off time. If they have, it's likely to have been reported somewhere, I would have thought.

 

[ModernRailways]

To be honest, that connection time wouldn't bother me too much, as the through ticket is protected should there be a delay. But it's good advice from Peter to get an earlier train in if you can and you are worried about being short of time.

In my experience, Eurostar have never enforced the 30 minute check in rule. It's there to encourage people not to leave it until the last minute and swamp security causing delays to despatching the train. So it should be possible to get through at 25 or even 20 minutes before departure, unless the barriers have recently been programmed with a cut off time. If they have, it's likely to have been reported somewhere, I would have thought.

10 minutes in my case! My train into Kings Cross was late and when we got the the Eurostar queue there was a load of people queuing (for the next services). We found a member of staff, explained the delay (we didn't have throught tickets, going through East Coast direct was cheaper), and they walked us through all the check in, jumping the queue, and then walked us all the way to the train. We boarded the train with about 2 minutes to spare - we hadn't sat down and the train departed! We could have been lucky and got a nice member of staff, but in my experience E* staff are some of the best and always appear very knowledgable!

 

[starmaster]

Thanks for all your replies, My home town is Wool on south coast incidentally. Peter, there are trains that are earlier but when booking online for a 'through ticket' when I have selected the one I want you are then not able to change an earlier southwest train for an earlier one to give you the extra time between Waterloo and St.Pancreas. Johnnychips, do you just phone to make the whole journey booking and do you get the same price as booking 'through ticket' online. Perhaps I should make my booking by phone if I can still get the same benefit for a through ticket as I would by online.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

there are trains that are earlier but when booking online for a 'through ticket' when I have selected the one I want you are then not able to change an earlier southwest train for an earlier one to give you the extra time between Waterloo and St.Pancras.

Is it actually called an advance for that leg? Sometimes times are printed on even when the ticket in question is unrestricted.

Was there no option to select an earlier connection before confirming the booking?

 

[johnnychips]

Johnnychips, do you just phone to make the whole journey booking and do you get the same price as booking 'through ticket' online. Perhaps I should make my booking by phone if I can still get the same benefit for a through ticket as I would by online.

We look at the advance prices, so recently EC offered a £10 advance Doncaster to Kings X 1616 on the day we wanted to travel, compared with £43ish on the 1605 Hull Trains. When I booked I asked a price for both to Brussels and the difference was exactly reflected. By booking through Eurostar, rather than buying the advances separately, you are still protected if there is a delay.

 

[lemonic]

When booking tickets from Wool to Brussels, the Wool to London leg will be one of the tickets listed on this page http://www.brfares.com/#!fares?orig=WOO&dest=LOE. (Probably the Euro Std Single EOS at £16.60 single or the Euro High Svr S EVS at £9.20 single if you are travelling in Standard Class).

None of these tickets restrict you to specific trains, so you will be able to take an earlier train if you prefer subject to any time restrictions on the ticket. (Can't arrive at Waterloo before 10:00 on the £9.20 EVS)

Alternatively, as mentioned above, you can book the Wool to London tickets by phoning the number given in an earlier post. If you want to do this, book the London to Brussels Eurostar tickets on the Eurostar website and then phone the number to book your connecting Wool to London tickets.

 

[johnnychips]

Alternatively, as mentioned above, you can book the Wool to London tickets by phoning the number given in an earlier post. If you want to do this, book the London to Brussels Eurostar tickets on the Eurostar website and then phone the number to book your connecting Wool to London tickets.

Why not book the whole lot by phone? Is it a bit cheaper to do the E* leg on the internet?

 

[lemonic]

Why not book the whole lot by phone? Is it a bit cheaper to do the E* leg on the internet?

I think it is the same price. However, I was under the impression it was a different number for main Eurostar bookings and a separate person dealt with domestic connections, so might not be quicker overall. If you can book both in one transaction, then I guess phoning up might be preferable.

 

[johnnychips]

I think it is the same price. However, I was under the impression it was a different number for main Eurostar bookings and a separate person dealt with domestic connections, so might not be quicker overall. If you can book both in one transaction, then I guess phoning up might be preferable.

No I dealt with one person. However it is not easy to find E*'s phone number, and the one I gave above may not be the exactly correct one, but I'm sure they'd put you through. You have to look in their website FAQ section. However, I cannot stress enough how friendly and helpful the staff are - as indeed they always are on the stations and trains.

EDIT: This will certainly do it - 08432 186 186. But the number I did give (0)1233 617 575 is what you are supposed to call from abroad, and by dialling this you will save by not paying an 084.. number supplement.

 

[White Ant]

I concur with the earlier suggestion that the domestic tickets you get aren't restricted to a specific train. I was booking from Bedford to the continent, and was only offered a 45 minute connection time, but was able to take an earlier train without issue - and from a different operator. The prices of these combined tickets are a real saving - especially at peak times.

 

[ModernRailways]

Why not book the whole lot by phone? Is it a bit cheaper to do the E* leg on the internet?

I'd assume it would be the same price. I've booked a trip over the phone and they managed to get me a cheaper fare than the one listed on the website! I've also cheated the DB London Spezial a few times and booked London to Brussels/Paris for €59 single which is often cheaper than E*

 

[starmaster]

Hi all, once again thanks for all your replies. I have just received a long awaited reply from Eurostar and they have said to give them a call, which a lot of you have suggested, so that's what I am going to do and hopefully book the whole journey with them and get it for the same price that I had worked it out for online.

 

[montmorency]

I concur with the earlier suggestion that the domestic tickets you get aren't restricted to a specific train. I was booking from Bedford to the continent, and was only offered a 45 minute connection time, but was able to take an earlier train without issue - and from a different operator. The prices of these combined tickets are a real saving - especially at peak times.

I had always been under the impression that this sort of ticket was in fact meant to be restricted, although I can't quote chapter and verse. They are usually (IME) very cheap, so you would expect a restriction. Last time I got one of these from Oxford (FGW), it was about £5 each way, although I think they might have made Oxford especially cheap as a sort of loss-leader, as it is a popular tourist destination. Other stations I looked at, even on the same route, were not as cheap.


The one slight disadvantage of DB London Spezials (at least booked via DB) is that you can't also include these tickets for your home station to St Pancras leg. (And I get the impression that if you book a UK to Germany journey via Eurostar, you won't get it as cheap as if doing it via DB (i.e. probably won't get the DB London Spezial fares). I'm open to correction though, of course).

 

[button_boxer]

The one slight disadvantage of DB London Spezials (at least booked via DB) is that you can't also include these tickets for your home station to St Pancras leg.

You can't get the whole lot in one transaction but you can book a DB London Spezial and then phone Eurostar domestic sales and get the connecting UK station to Lndon Estar CIV ticket from them, which is pretty much the same thing (a "through" booking from Eurostar is simply the Eurostar ticket across the channel plus a separate UK station to Lndon Estar CIV ticket, they quote a total price and you pay with a single card payment but the tickets you receive are priced individually).

 

[shinkansen1966]

Thanks Wolfie, thinking on it if they only allow an hour between, and it was an hour for which ever one I chose then Eurostar must be quite confident that you have the time to be able to make the connection otherwise everybody would be complaining about it.

Exactly.

Eurostar chose to book you the inbound connection from Waterloo, so it's their responsibility to get you to Brussels.

As others have said, you can get from Waterloo to St Pancras in around 20 minutes. Eurostar recommend 30 minute check-in. On several occasions, I've been at the St Pancras Eurostar check-in gates 15 minutes beforehand and still been ok.

You'll be fine.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Exactly.

Eurostar chose to book you the inbound connection from Waterloo, so it's their responsibility to get you to Brussels.

As others have said, you can get from Waterloo to St Pancras in around 20 minutes. Eurostar recommend 30 minute check-in. On several occasions, I've been at the St Pancras Eurostar check-in gates 15 minutes beforehand and still been ok.

You'll be fine.

You should be - the tube is generally trouble free - and the E* staff , are, I have to say - very good. Travel lightly if you can and enjoy.

 

[montmorency]

You can't get the whole lot in one transaction but you can book a DB London Spezial and then phone Eurostar domestic sales and get the connecting UK station to Lndon Estar CIV ticket from them, which is pretty much the same thing (a "through" booking from Eurostar is simply the Eurostar ticket across the channel plus a separate UK station to Lndon Estar CIV ticket, they quote a total price and you pay with a single card payment but the tickets you receive are priced individually).

Thank you. That sounds like the way to go then.

 

[button_boxer]

Thank you. That sounds like the way to go then.

The number you need is 01233 617913, it can sometimes take quite a few tries to get through but it's worth persevering, the staff are excellent when you do manage to speak to them.

 

[montmorency]

Thanks again button_boxer. Edit: (Useful for me, and also for a good friend who travels to Germany quite a bit, but not sure if he knew that wheeze! ).