Euro Star Performer (Eurostar)

Member Name: Morgenhund

Product:	Eurostar
Date:	29/01/01 (472 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Goes City centre to City Centre, easy check-in

Disadvantages: pricy buffet car

Eurostar

I have used the Eurostar service from London Waterloo-Brussels Gare du Midi quite frequently, having spent two summers living in Brussels. I was able to get very reasonable tickets as a student (£69 return) and this works out as a similar price as a London-Brussels return plane ticket, and also a lot less hassle. Admittedly this is not as cheap as with Ryanair, but with them you fly from an inconvenient airport to another incovenient airport (Brussels South is in Charleroi) and are bussed into Brussels, which doesn't save you time. With Zaventem's notorious bad luggage handling, Eurostar is a much better idea than flying Heathrow/London City-Brussels, as Zaventem is far from central although a train will take you into the centre of Brussels.

The check-in process is very simple as you can walk through with your baggage and check-in yourself about half an hour in advance. The trains are usually ready to board twenty minutes before departure time, and are an impressive sight. The seats are comfortable and the staff are courteous, and if you travel during the week then the trains are often pretty empty. For people living in Brussels wanting to go to Lille for dinner (one of my favourite pastimes!), Eurostar also offered returns to Lille for about £14 so it really was possible to go just for dinner. Once the tracks are upgraded in England, then the 2h45 mins time to Brussels will be closer to 2h20mins. The actually tunnel stretch of the journey lasts about 20-25 minutes and is very uneventful.

I usually end up going to the bar, which serves decent sized measures at not too out of the way prices, although the food isn't very cheap. The barmen are again very polite. One of them used to see me making my way to the bar on a Sunday night, when returning from a weekend in Britain, and would know that I'd be wanting a G+T, as it became a regular occurrence. The announcements are made in English, French, German and Dutch/Flem
ish, and do not disturb your journey. I found that I could actually do some work on Eurostar, something that was impossible on a normal train in the UK or if flying, and the tables were always clean.

Passport control is a mere formality (if your papers are in order!) and is done before you board and then on the train. Whilst obviously there is no chance of duty free, this is not really that much of an issue as you can get anything you want cheaply enough in Brussels.

There is plenty of provision for disabled passengers and there is a porter service to help you with baggage. Similarly you can also book taxis etc. to be arranged at teh other end prior to departure.

Other services:

Le Shuttle - I have not actually done Le Shuttle (the car service from Ashford-Sangatte) but have yet to hear any problems about it from family members who have used it.

Disneyland Paris - Services operate to Disneyland Paris (about 60km east of Paris) from London Waterloo and Ashford International direct to Disneyland Paris.

Ski Train - There is now a service from London Waterloo-Bourg St Maurice (close to La Plagne) which goes overnight, which is great for people skiing in the French Alps

From Brussels and Paris it is also possible to change trains and then take Thalys, another highspeed train to Amsterdam, or get on TGV to go to other parts of France.

Whilst Eurotunnel racked up massive debts in a similar style to the Millennium Dome, the company is now posting profits, and provides a great service, which is very easy to use, and very reliable. For a booze cruise is it not really an option, as you can get a car across the channel for cheaper than Le Shuttle, but for pure convenience this is a service that is very hard to beat indeed. Eventually it will be possible to board Eurostar from other places in the UK than Ashford International or Waterloo, which will improve the service even further.

Some people may
be worried about the possibility of fire, but in all fairness the safety in the tunnel is a lot better than the safety of many of the road tunnels on the continent.

The official website www.eurostar.com allows you to look at timetables, book tickets and so on, and for the additional connecting services the site www.eurostarplus.com has details about onwards journeys.

Summary: