The Fyra Farce Goes Worldwide
I’ve just been notified of two articles about Fyra; the Dutch/Belgium high-speed train from Business Traveller and Cleveland.com.
I’ve also had a look on the Eurostar web site. They’re saying this.
To travel to the Netherlands book your Eurostar to Brussels first and then your Thalys train from Brussels to Amsterdam, Schiphol or Rotterdam.
I suppose they’re only telling you what is possible.
Let’s face it London to Amsterdam is probably only a similar distance, as London to say Perth in Scotland. I haven’t done that journey but I know it would be one web purchase not two, as incidentally so would London to Geneva on Eurostar’s web site, changing in Paris.
It’s a complete mess and it seems to be getting worse, with little leadership or common sense being shown.
Fyra Suspended
The launch on the Fyra trains between Brussels and Amsterdam, must rank as one of the worst launches of any train services in the last few years. We’ve had a few bad ones in the UK, where reliability has been questioned and we’ve also had problems with the wrong kind of snow, but nothing, which seems to have been hated by so many as this train has. The BBC tries to explain the mess here.
If we are going to go back to the future, let’s hope that Eurostar are able to reinstate their beautifully simple ticket to Any Dutch Station.
I will be first in the queue to buy one!
If they don’t I’ll just go by train to that jewel of the Essex coast; Southend, get in an orange aeroplane and hop across to Schipol. The Belgians, Brussels and the planet will all be losers.
An Excursion In Brussels
I had nearly three hours to wait for my train in Brussels Midi and as I wasn’t sure about our eating arrangements, I thought a quick snack would be in order in the city. From previous experience, I know that the city has good places where I can get a good gluten-free meal.
A quick look around the station after my gentle argument with the guy in Information, indicated that there was nothing but bars and gluten-rich snack places in the station. There was a Starbucks, but you don’t go to one of the gastronomic capitals of the world to go to Starbucks.
So I decided to get a Metro to the area around the cathedral. I couldn’t fathom out the automatic machines, but at least there was a friendly ticket office, where they could understand my French. After getting confused and being sorted on the line to take to go north by an Italian from Milan, where we mused on the confusing maps and directions in the Brussels Metro, I finally got to a station called de Brouckère somewhere near where I thought I wanted to be. I emerged and found my way with ease.
If I’d had more time there was an exhibition of the Terracotta Army, which looked worth visiting.
Eventually, I found a street full of Thai restaurants, which I walked down to the end and found a welcoming-looking place called Le Roi des Belges.
So I took a chance and entered.
I asked if the waitress if the food and especially the plat du jour of salmon was gluten free. It wasn’t just gluten-free but delicious, being cooked with asparagus, tomatoes, herbs and mashed potato. The Belgian speciality of frites was absent. with a Pepsi, it cost me just €12.
it appeared to me though, that this could be the sort of restaurant, that will often be full. So be prepared to go somewhere else, if you turn up on the off-chance.
I walked on to the next Metro station and got the tram back to Brussels Midi.
When I was on the high speed train, it made another stop in Brussels Central station. If you know the city, then you might pick up your onward train to The Netherlands from here.
To The Hague And Back
On Tuesday, I took the Eurostar to see a friend in The Hague. This is a picture of me, eating a gluten-free breakfast in Premium Economy on Eurostar.
Eating A Gluten-Free Breakfast On Eurostar
I know it is only a snack, but it is nice to get something if you’re a coeliac and need gluten-free food.
I had orange juice, yoghurt, as much tea as I wanted, some Dove Farms biscuits, gluten-free bread, butter and a small pot of Tiptree jam.
This leg of the journey cost me £107. That may seem a lot, especially as I could have flown to Brussels on BA for £59, if I’d have booked earlier. But I would doubt, I’d have got such a nice breakfast and I would then have to get to and from the two airports at Heathrow and Brussels.
I actually booked a few days ago, but Standard Premier, always seems to be the same price of £107. I could have travelled in Standard for less at less than forty pounds or to any Belgian station for just £44. Standard Premier to any Belgian station is £116. For many travelling to the southern parts of the Netherlands, that will be a good option, as you can go to Antwerp and travel on from there. You’ll also get to see the triple decker station.
If you’re on an evening train, I’ve usually found the dinner and free wine to be excellent.
I had booked a connection in Brussels, that gave me over three hours in the Belgian capital, so I had time to do two things. One was to take an excursion to get some lunch and the other was to see if I could get a ticket on the InterCity train to The Hague.
I tried the Information, and the guy there said that the train had been discontinued. He did offer me a local train, that went via changes at Antwerp and Rosendaal, but I didn’t want to go on a mystery tour of the Low Countries. There were no machines to try out, so I decided to stop being a nuisance and use my ticket on the Fyra high-speed train to Rotterdam. Incidentally, there does seem to be a few teething problems with the organisation at Brussels, with Eurostar and Thalys up one end of the station and the Fyra at the other. They also changed the platform about fifteen or so minutes before the train departed. The carriage numbers are a bit confusing too, if you’ve been used to the old British Rail system of A-K and First generally towards London. Sometimes, I think the EU should lay down a few standards that would help us all.
Fyra Arrives At Rotterdam
The picture shows the train after arrival at Rotterdam.
The train is a typical boring train, where in Standard Class, you get comfortable seats with only minimal leg-room. It was no more comfortable than the Mk 3 coach, I ride in to Ipswich. But one thing that was disconcerting was that there were quite a few thumps coming from the suspension. My neighbour on the train; a Greek physicist, said that that was common. Incidentally, she’d paid the same €22, that I had for my ticket. It was just a sheet of A4 paper. More on this later.
I then took the local train to Den Haag HS station. I stood all the way, as I was talking to a Swiss lady with a Canadian accent, who worked for Rotterdam police.
I actually arrived earlier than I’d expected, as the Den Haag train I got was an earlier connection, so I had a look round the station, as the next day, I would be getting a ticket from there to Schipol for my flight home. I did find an automatic ticket machine, but it only took debit cards and not even cash. I couldn’t find the ticket office either.
Going home, I was dropped at Den Haag Centraal station and the machines were the same; debit card only. After a twenty minute queue at the ticket office, I eventually used cash to buy a ticket to Schipol to take my flight to the jewel of the Essex coast; Southend. If the Dutch are serious about attracting visitors, they need to look at their ticket machines.
The take-off time was 18:00, but we left early and at 18:05 or sixty-five minutes later because of the time difference, I was on the train towards Liverpool Street. I was sitting watching the television with a cup of tea soon soon after seven.
That six o’clock easyJet flight is certainly the fastest way to get back from Schipol to East and Central London, if you have no baggage, as they always seem to be early at Southend. It also cost me less than forty pounds for the ticket and I had a nourishing gluten-free tomato soup on the journey. Not to Eurostar’s standard but who could serve a meal properly in less than forty minutes. I even got an apology from the stewardess about the soup, as she couldn’t give it enough of a stir. But there were other passengers to serve!
The Dutch And The Belgians Create A Mess
I have read in Modern Railways that because there is now a high speed rail line from Rotterdam to Brussels, that the Inter City service from Den Haag to Brussels has been withdrawn.
I’ve used this a couple of times, by buying a Eurostar ticket from London to Any Dutch Station. This ticket has been withdrawn as well.
I also looked up how to get from Brussels to Den Haag and you either have to use the high speed line or go halfway round the Netherlands to places you don’t want to visit. Apparently, Dutch who commute into Brussels aren’t pleased either!
The high speed tickets aren’t cheap!
I think next time I go to Den Haag, I’ll fly to Schipol and get a train from there.
A pity that, as Eurostar does a rather nice gluten-free meal with wine and easyJet doesn’t.
It all seems a bit like making passengers arriving on Eurostar at St. Pancras, who want to go to Scotland, always go via Newcastle and change trains there.
I just wonder how many tickets, Eurostar will sell to The Netherlands in the next few years. Not many, I’d venture.
I’ve also found this report on a Dutch news web site.
Changing At Brussels
Coming back, I changed at Brussels.
The signage is very confusing and resulted in my walking up and down several times before I found the new Channel Terminal, which doesn’t feature on the signs. There was no-one to ask either.
The new terminal was rather poor with only limited sit-down toilets for men and rather tired furniture. Hopefully, it’s just part way through completion.
It was also not improved by the most obese member of the UK Border Force, I’ve ever seen. A real advert for the UK,
By Eurostar To The Netherlands
On Thursday I took the Eurostar to visit a friend in The Hague. I travelled in Standard Premier to get a comfortable seat with a table and a meal.
My route was to take the Eurostar to Brussels, where I would change to the Dutch Inter City train to Den Haag HS. The weather wasn’t good as this picture shows.
To Brussels In The Mist
Not that you get to see much on a trip to Brussels. But at least the gluten-free breakfast is worth having.
Eurostar’s Gluten-Free Breakfast
Note the Dove’s Farm biscuits, which seem to have disappeared from the shops.
Coming back, I got a rather nice gluten-free chicken for supper, with as much wine as I wanted.
It is a bit of a pain having to change trains in Brussels, but it isn’t too far to walk. It would be nice though if I could have got a train right the way through to The Hague or Rotterdam from St. Pancras.
The main reason is that Eurostar trains can’t run on the Dutch train network, although they can run on ours. Most modern trains like the East and West Coast Main Lines in the UK, the French TGV and the Channel Tunnel are electrified to the same standard of 25kV A.C. But the Dutch railway for some reason is electrified at 1.5kV D.C. Although the High Speed Line to Amsterdam is at the higher voltage.
This entry in Wikipedia talks about the future of high speed trains from London to the Netherlands. When Eurostar get their new trains, they may even call at The Hague.
The Netherlands By Rail
I was looking at Eurostar, as I want to go to Berlin at some time to see the new museum.
When I went to The Netherlands last time on the train, I had to wait for about an hour in Brussels to buy a ticket to get to Den Haag, as it was impossible to buy one before I left London. Now though you can buy a ticket from London to any Dutch station. All you have to do is get to Brussels Midi and then take a Dutch domestic service within 24 hours! The rules for return, are that you can take any Dutch domestic service that arrives within 24 hours of your Eurostar departure.
That sounds like a really sensible way of travelling. You could catch the next train to say Rotterdam and save time or you could catch a morning train to Brussels, have a look round the city and perhaps have a good lunch as I did in the spring and then take an evening train across the border.
It would seem to be cheaper too, as my ticket last time to Den Haag from Brussels and back would have cost 60 Euros in Standard Class. Looking today and going in a couple of weeks, it looks like I can do the whole journey both ways for about £120 or less. That price was for next week, so I suspect, you could beat that if you booked further in advance.
Incidentally going by Thalys to say Amsterdam from Brussels on the same dates, doesn’t have a very good choice of trains and costs twice the price! I suspect you might save a few minutes on the journey, but because of the connections, you would probably have to leave London an hour or so later. That is not my style, as I’ve always been one for an early start! I always think that you can get a good lunch in Brusssels anyway. Or you could visit the falcons in the cathedral.
It all sounds to be a good deal to me! But one that won’t be too good to be true!
The Atomium
As I said in the post on Heysel, I took the Metro essentially to see the Atomium.
I should say that be careful on the Brussels Metro, as Line 6 is essentially a ring and you can end up going a lot longer than you need, by following the obvious route. I travelled from Rogier and quickly realised that instead of going direct to Heysel, I should go to Simonis and change. The difference was twelve stations and using the London formula of two minutes a station, that is 24 minutes.
I remember the Atomium being built as a child and although a friend said not to bother to visit, I did!
Some of the pictures also show the pavilions for the Brussels International Exposition that took place in 1935. They were reused for Expo ’58, for which the Atomium was built.
Was the visit worth it?
Yes! For the views from the top, but I know C wouldn’t have thought much of it.
Heysel
Whenever we think of Heysel Stadium in Brussels we think of the terrible tragedy at the football match between Liverpool and Juventus in which 39 Juventus supporters died.
After lunch I took the Metro mainly to see the Atomium and found that it was at the same place as the stadium.
But now the old stadium has gone and a new one, now renamed the King Baudouin Stadium, has taken its place.
The King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
I remember I was in Cheltenham that night visiting a client and watched the disaster unfold on the television in my hotel room. I have had a lot of tragedy lately in my life and I don’t want to go through anymore.
Hopefully, I won’t see anything like that again.
The Anonymous Widower 