Spring Nostalgia Trip: From Amsterdam to Glasgow by Train

This is one of my information-only posts. Anyone who ever plans a trip including the British Isles and any destination on the European continent should read this one.

You can pull off some pretty remarkable travel tricks in or out of the UK with the help of trains through the Channel Tunnel between England and France. Just as critical to those tricks are the dedicated high-speed rail lines connected to the tunnel at both ends, which allow trains to travel pretty much all the way from London to Paris or Brussels without leaving the high-speed tracks except at the route ends. High speed trains go even farther afield in the various countries.

Here, then, is the story of my high-speed train trip from Amsterdam (leaving at 8:45 in the morning) to Glasgow, arriving at 6:35 the same evening.

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For starters, you have to check in 60-75 minutes in advance of any departure of Eurostar, the high-speed train service that runs through the Channel Tunnel. Why, you ask? Here’s what happens at the station before you even get on the train:

[1]    Ticket gets scanned.

[2]    Security check, just like at an airport.

[3]    Outbound customs/passport check from country where you’re starting (Netherlands).

[4]    Inbound customs/passport check for destination country (United Kingdom).

[5]    Waiting lounge to board train.

This means that you have been cleared to enter your destination before even boarding the train. It’s just like the customs preclearance at major Canadian airports for flights to the U.S.A.

Next thing to understand is the three classes of service on Eurostar.

[1]          Standard Class. You get a nice seat, arranged two and two on either side of the aisle. Seat selection is included. The seats can be airline-style (with someone else’s seat back ahead of you) or a group of four facing each other on either side of a larger table. Your choice.

[2]          Standard Premier Class. Wider seats arranged one and two on either side of the aisle. Seat selection is included. Your fare includes a cold "light bite” with wine or beer of your choice, or soft drinks, coffee, tea, etc. The light bite on this trip was a dish of grilled salmon with couscous, served with a multigrain roll, butter, and a fruit sponge cake as a dessert (there was also a vegetarian option). Not bad at all, and certainly filling. This class, depending on how busy the train gets, may cost only a few dozen dollars more than standard. Especially a good buy if you can book early, up to six months in advance.

[3]          Business Premier Class. Similar seats to Standard Premier. Major difference is a wider selection in the bar service along with a hot meal instead of the cold “light bite.” Cost? Far more expensive than Standard Premier. Definitely worth the price, though, if you’re one of those people with more money than brains.

Here are some sample prices in Canadian dollars – just a random date three months ahead of time, at a similar time of day to when I travelled. These are peak season fares, but they give you an idea of the typical relationship among the three classes. The basic difference from Standard Premier to Business Premier is to pay an extra $219.46 (almost doubling the Standard Premier fare)     just to get a hot rather than cold meal and a better choice of alcohol drinks.

Standard:  185.50

Standard Premier:  269.11

Business Premier:  488.57

Eurostar fares are engraved in jello. Time of day, day of the week, how far ahead you are booking demand for a particular train – all these things mean that almost every possible train comes in at a different price.

And we’re off. The train makes several stops to pick up more passengers for London, but a London-bound Eurostar can not be used by anyone not going to London, because of the customs procedures. We stopped at Rotterdam, Brussels, and Lille.

As the train whips through the Channel Tunnel, you set your time back one hour (I actually do it even before boarding in Amsterdam). From there, it’s only another forty minutes or so and then the Eurostar is rolling into St. Pancras International Station in London. It takes a bit of time to walk  the full length of the platforms and down the exit ramps, then around the International facility and out of the station.

Here comes the payoff. King’s Cross Station, where trains leave for Scotland (and Hogwarts) is right next door to St. Pancras. We arrived in London smack on time at 11:57 am. That gave me ample time for a sit in the sun for a while outside King’s Cross Station before going in to catch my 1:00 pm train to Edinburgh. Why didn't I use the First Class premium lounge while waiting? Because the sun was a much more powerful incentive!

The train operating company running the main services to Scotland, LNER (London Northeastern Railway) offers a two-class service on its trains, like the vast majority of British rail operators. The LNER First Class service again offers one-and-two seating, and includes a meal and beverages at your seat. The lunch menu choices included a couple of hot meals, and several salads, which would be prepared and brought to you, as well as several sandwich choices. The sandwiches were pre-made and packaged, but Canadians need to know that British pre-made and packaged sandwiches generally knock their Canadian counterparts clear into the garbage bin, where they belong BTW. Mine was a ham and cheddar sandwich with Branston pickle, a kind of sweet and spicy relish which I love. The panini roll was fresh and flavourful, and the fillings were generous. As for beverages, I’m sure the staff came through the car offering hot drinks and then cold drinks three times – unless it was four. I’d never had a four-hour train trip pass so quickly. 

 

In a Standard Class coach on an LNER train, you would have to leave your seat and walk to a buffet car and then stand in line to buy drinks and food -- the same as on pretty much any railway's Standard or Economy class service including Eurostar.

 

When we pulled into Edinburgh at 5:20 pm, the 5:30 express train to Glasgow was waiting right along the same platform. Quite a few people dashed to grab it. I didn’t care so much, and simply idled along at a more leisurely pace, since I knew that those expresses (operated by ScotRail, by the way) operate every fifteen minutes during the morning and evening peak hours. Even though they make several stops on the way, the express trains still cover the distance to Glasgow in under 55 minutes.

Now, what about tickets?

First, the bad news: Eurostar sells their own tickets exclusively and only. They do not offer joint fares with other operators on other routes, nor allow other operators to jointly offer Eurostar. Also, Eurostar does not participate in any rail passes, such as Eurailpass, Britrail Pass, etc. You gotta go, you gonna pay.

For the rest, the Britrail Pass, available only in North America, is still the way to go for rail travel in the United Kingdom. I added together the single fares for the one-way ticket from London to Edinburgh, and a round-trip ticket from Edinburgh to Glasgow to Oban (more on that in another post). The result was about $45 more than buying a three-day Britrail Flexpass – usable for any three days in a month. I took the pass -- no argument here!

The real miracle, though, is the speed of the whole experience. I actually did most of this route in a different form on one of my earliest European trips, back in – I think it was 1983. It went like this:

 

Leave Amsterdam 5:30 pm, special boat train to Hoek van Holland.   

Overnight crossing by ferry, Hoek van Holland to Harwich.

Boat Train from Harwich to London Liverpool Street Station, arriving about 9:30 am.

Tube ride to King’s Cross.

“The Flying Scotsman,” the fastest express from King’s Cross to Edinburgh, departs at 11:00 am

Arrive Edinburgh 4:30 pm

Next train to Glasgow departs 5:00 pm

Arrive Glasgow 6:05 pm.

NO meals included.

Total time: 25 hours 35 minutes approximately.

 

Now, a recap of my present day travel time:

Leave Amsterdam 8:45 am, arriving at London St. Pancras 11:57am, light lunch and wine included.

Depart London King’s Cross 1:00pm, arriving Edinburgh at 5:20pm, lunch and drinks included.

Depart Edinburgh 5:45pm, arrive Glasgow 6:38pm.

Total time: 10 hours 53 minutes approximately.

 

Just a wee bit faster!