There have been lots of rumours about new Eurostar routes over the past year or so. In June, the cross-Channel operator signed a memorandum of understanding in which it committed to trying to establish a direct connection from London to Switzerland. Last December, it did the same for routes to Cologne and Frankfurt. But those are not confirmations that the routes will actually happen and even if they do, they wouldn’t be expected until the 2030s. However, Eurostar has just confirmed that we will in fact get one brand new direct route before the end of the year.
Eurostar will start running direct journeys from London St Pancras to Antwerp in December. Trains that already run between London and Amsterdam will travel further to go through existing stops at at Lille-Europe, Brussels-Midi, Rotterdam-Centraal and Antwerpen-Centraal. There’ll be up to four services a day going to Belgium’s second city, starting from December 14.
At the moment, getting from London to Antwerp by train takes around three hours and 15 minutes – you’ve got to get the Eurostar to Brussels then catch a separate Belgian National Rail Company (SNCB) train. The new direct route slices more than half an hour off that time, taking around two hours and 45 minutes.
The one catch is that the route will only be direct on the route going from London. That’s because there are no UK border and customs facilities at Antwerp Centraal. To get back, travellers will have to book a combined SNCB and Eurostar ticket connecting via Brussels-Midi.
Eurostar said: ‘Adding Antwerp as a direct stop on our London–Amsterdam services will make journeys to the city quicker and more convenient, providing customers with a more comfortable city centre to city centre travel experience.’
ICYMI: Another high-speed rail operator has plans to launch a route from London to Germany.
Plus: This major London tube line is getting more trains on weekends.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.
