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On account of specific check-in procedures and stricter customs controls, Eurostar passengers must be present at the Eurostar check-in at least 45 to 60 minutes before departure (exception: 10 minutes fast check-in for Business Premier passengers).
IMPORTANT NOTICE: due to travel restrictions linked to Covid-19 and different entry conditions for each country, Eurostar check-in times are temporarily longer than usual. Eurostar asks their passengers to arrive at the station 90 to 120 minutes before departure (45 to 60 minutes for Business Premier passengers). Depending on your departure station, the access gates are closing 30 or 45 minutes before departure (10 or 20 minutes for Business Premier passengers).
Thalys passengers travelling from Paris Nord (Paris) need to be at the station 20 minutes before departure due to security measures.
Furthermore, non-systematic and non-permanent security checks have been introduced in the train stations of Brussels-Midi, Antwerp-Central and Liège-Guillemins for Thalys, TGV INOUI and ICE passengers as from July 2017. Taking into account that you may be subject to these security checks, we ask you to foresee a safe time margin and make your way to the platform sufficiently on time.
At other stations, allow yourself enough time to find your way around the station (this varies greatly from one station to another) and to catch your train with complete peace of mind. Generally, we recommend being on the platform around 5 minutes before departure of the train.
Unfortunately, trains can occasionally be delayed or even cancelled, or there may be a change of platform. So it can be useful to monitor your train in real time, either during your journey or before you depart.
We provide three tools you can use to access up-to-the-minute train information:
1. Real time train schedules
Train schedules provided on our website are updated in real time. Check the timetables for your connection shortly before your departure to see if your train is running on schedule.
Check timetables for your connection >
2. Railway station departures and arrivals boards
You can view the departures and arrivals boards for hundreds of railway stations across Europe directly from our website. The boards show every train departing from or arriving at the station, along with any delays or platform changes for each train – just as if you were on the station concourse.
Check the departures and arrivals board for your station >
3. "Push" notifications for a particular train
You can activate the "Push notifications" feature on our mobile app to keep up to date with any timetable changes affecting a particular train (e.g. a delay of five minutes or more, cancellation or platform change) – regardless of whether you have booked a ticket for the train in question.
Many international trains provide a restaurant carriage or bar, or even the option to have a meal served to your seat. The services on offer vary a great deal from one rail company to another.
Here is a summary of services on our main routes:
Eurostar:
- An on-board bar carriage is available to all passengers and serves a selection of hot and cold drinks, hot and cold food and a range of snacks.
- A light meal (or breakfast, according to the time of day) served at your seat is included in the price of the ticket for passengers in Standard Premier and Business Premier.
Thalys (including Thalys Sun and Thalys Snow):
- An on-board bar carriage is available to all passengers and serves a selection of hot and cold drinks, hot and cold food and a range of snacks.
- A light meal, snack or breakfast (depending on the journey and time of day) is included in the price of the ticket for passengers in Comfort 1 (travel until 9 December 2017) or Premium (travel from 10 December 2017), and is served at your seat.
TGV INOUI:
- An on-board bar carriage is available to all passengers and serves a selection of hot and cold drinks, hot and cold food and a range of snacks.
- Food is not served directly at your seat.
TGV Lyria:
- An on-board bar carriage is available to all passengers and serves a selection of hot and cold drinks, hot and cold food and a range of snacks.
- On some services, passengers can request food to be served at their seat for an additional charge.
ICE:
- An on-board restaurant is available to all passengers and serves a selection of hot and cold drinks, salads, and a range of food to eat in or take back to your seat.
- In 1st class: passengers can have food or drinks served at their seat (on request; an extra charge applies).
InterCity Brussels-Amsterdam: Minibar trolley service on most trains.
ÖBB Nightjet:
- Minibar trolley service
- Breakfast is included in sleeper cars and couchettes (not for carriage seats)
Eurostar offers services to the United Kingdom, which is not part of the Schengen zone. As a result, all Eurostar passengers must always go through passport control, as does anyone leaving the Schengen zone in general (by any means of transport). Identity and security checks for Eurostar passengers take place inside a dedicated Eurostar terminal.
In contrast, Thalys, TGV® and ICE passengers are travelling inside the Schengen zone. These passengers are therefore not subject to systematic identity checks when departing from Brussels, Liège or Antwerp, but may at any time be required to undergo security checks as from July 2017, depending on the recommendations of the security services.
To find out which platform your train will leave from (or at which platform it will arrive), please check departures and arrivals at your station in real time.
Note: for operational reasons, last-minute platform changes are always possible. Please check the information boards or listen to station announcements before your departure.
More and more rail companies are now offering a Wi-Fi connection on their trains.
Remember that some trains reach speeds of 300 km/h and can often go through tunnels and hilly areas, so Wi-Fi on board represents a real technological achievement.
To date, the main rail companies offering Wi-Fi are:
- Thalys: free Wi-Fi on all routes.
- Eurostar: free Wi-Fi on new E320 trains.
- ICE: free Wi-Fi (in 1st and 2nd class).
- TGV InOUI: free Wi-Fi (in 1st and 2nd class) on main routes in France.
- NS (the Netherlands): free Wi-Fi (in 1st class and 2nd class) on InterCity trains featuring the Wi-Fi logo on the outside.
Other rail companies are currently in a test phase.
The Eurostar Business Premier lounges, situated inside the Eurostar terminals at the Brussels Midi/Zuid, London St Pancras and Paris Nord stations, are relaxation spaces designed by Philippe Starck.
They offer Eurostar Business Premier passengers pleasant and comfortable spaces to relax or work, and offer a Wi-Fi connection, meeting spaces, a well-stocked self-service bar and a selection of international newspapers and magazines.
Business Premier lounges can be used by:
- Eurostar passengers with a Business Premier ticket;
- Passengers with a Eurostar Carte Blanche
At several stations served by Thalys (or in the immediate proximity), Lounge&More spaces offer passengers pleasant comfortable relaxation and work spaces. They offer Wi-Fi connection, a meeting space, a self-service bar and a selection of international newspapers and magazines.
These Lounge&More spaces can be used by:
- passengers holding a Thalys Premium class ticket for the same day
- members of My Thalys World (Club or Club+) on simple presentation of their membership card;
- members of My Thalys World (Explorer) on presentation of their membership card and a Thalys ticket for the same day;
- travellers benefitting from Thalys Corporate Fares (corporate contract);
- passengers who are members of the loyalty scheme of another member of the Railteam alliance holding a Thalys ticket for the same day;
- AirFrance Business customers
Thalys Lounge&More
- Bruxelles-Midi: rue de l'Instruction 158-160 (corner of rue de l’Instruction and Place Horta, 5 min. from Thalys platforms)
- Paris Nord: rue de Dunkerque 22 (on the left of the Paris Nord station, facing the main facade)
NS International - Regus Express lounges, situated at Amsterdam Central, Rotterdam Central and Schiphol stations are pleasant relaxing spaces, where you can relax or work whilst waiting for your train. They offer a Wi-Fi connection and meeting rooms.
These lounges can be used by:
- passengers with an international 1st class ticket to or from the station concerned for the same day;
- members of a lyalty card of any Railteam partner.
If you have a Bahncard 100 card or an ICE 1st class Flexpreis ticket for the same day (or a 1st class ticket for an InterCity train run by Deutsche Bahn), you can use the DB Lounge at your station of departure or your station of arrival, if they have these lounges.
DB Lounges are pleasant relaxing spaces, offering a Wi-Fi connection, meeting rooms, a self-service bar offering hot and cold drinks, along with a selection of international newspapers and magazines.
You can find DB Lounges at the following stations:
Berlin Hbf, Bremen Hbf, Dresden Hbf, Düsseldorf Hbf, Essen Hbf, Frankfurt/M. Hbf, Frankfurt/M. Flughafen Fernbahnhof (Frankfurt Airport Railway Station), Hamburg Hbf, Hannover Hbf, Köln Hbf (Cologne), Leipzig Hbf, Mannheim Hbf, München Hbf (Munich), Nürnberg Hbf (Nuremberg), Stuttgart Hbf
Lille Europe and Lille Flanders are two separate, but neighbouring train stations: they are only 450 metres apart.
The easiest way to get from one station to the other is therefore on foot (it's a 10-minute walk), even if you have luggage with you: the older Lille Flanders train station is set on the ground level, while the new Lille Europe train station has lifts and escalators at each entrance.
Whether you walk via Place François Mitterrand (the promenade between the Euralille shopping centre and Lille Europe train station) or the Le Corbusier Viaduct, the raised platforms and dropped curbs mean that you won't have to navigate any obstacles with your buggies and wheeled suitcases.
In both stations, signs clearly indicate the route to the other station. Of course, you can also ask station staff. Or simpler still, you can follow the flood of regular travellers making the journey. Their large number (and their luggage) make them easy to spot!
In Paris, Gare de Lyon is the departure point for most TGV trains to the Alps, Provence, Côte d'Azur, Occitania, Switzerland, Italy and Barcelona..
To get from Paris Nord station to Gare de Lyon, you can take a taxi, hire a bike (or a scooter), but nothing is easier than the RER (the suburban train network that runs through Paris).
- When your train arrives at Paris Nord station, follow the train platform until you arrive at the underground metro and RER station (following the RER signs, line D).
- Take RER D towards Corbeil-Essonnes / Melun / Malesherbes and get off at Gare de Lyon.
The RER takes only 2 stops and 15 minutes to connect the city's two main train stations. However, you should allow at least a good half hour for your transfer, the time needed to find your way around the corridors of the underground stations.
This RER transfer is not included in your TGV tickets, but you can take the RER between the two stations with a simple metro ticket.
Tip: to save time in Paris, you can buy your metro tickets in advance in the Thalys bar carriage.
It depends on the fare paid for the ICE ticket.
If you chose the Flexpreis fare, which is flexible, your ticket is valid on any train on your route during the period of validity stated on the ticket (one day for electronic tickets covering a distance under 100km, two days for electronic tickets with a distance over 100km, and four days for conventional paper tickets issued at railway stations).
If you opted for the Supersparpreis, Supersparpreis Europa or Sparpreis Europa saver fares, your ticket is only valid on board the IC or ICE train(s) selected when the ticket was purchased, the train number of which appears on your ticket. However, if you travel on a regional train for part of your journey, your Sparpreis ticket is valid on any regional train of your choice.
The validity of your ticket (as described above) is completely unaffected, whether or not you decide to reserve a seat on board one or more ICE trains.
European passenger rights state that where it is reasonably to be expected that the delay in arrival at the final destination will be more than 60 minutes you have the choice between the following 3 measures:
- full refund of your ticket;
- continuation of your journey at the earliest opportunity (via the usual route or an alternative route) under comparable transport conditions;
- continuation of your journey at a later date at your convenience under comparable conditions of transport;
So please go to your point-of-sale or ticket offices at your station if you have any difficulties.
Note: if you are taking two or more connecting trains, the principle of separate transport contracts applies. In practice, this means that in a journey involving multiple rail companies, each rail company will only be liable for the part of the journey relating to them, whether you have one or more tickets.
15 European rail operators have signed the Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) to allow passengers of international trains to catch the next available train at no extra cost if they miss their connection.
These operators are BLS (Switzerland), CD (Czech Republic), CFL (Luxembourg), DB (Germany), DSB (Denmark), NS (Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), Renfe (Spain), SJ (Sweden), SBB/CFF/FFS (Switzerland), SNCB (Belgium), SNCF (France), SZ (Slovenia), Trenitalia (Italy), ZSSK (Slovakia).
If you miss your connection on an international journey because your previous train was delayed, you should go to the ticket office of your connection station, where the station staff will give you a delay certificate that will allow you to board the next train operated by the same carrier. The procedure is the same for all operators who have signed up to the agreement.
Railteam is an association of several railway companies which aims to make travel easier for passengers using the European high-speed rail network.
Current members of Railteam are Deutsche Bahn (ICE), Société nationale des chemins de fer français (TGV Inoui), Eurostar, Thalys, Österreichische Bundesbahnen (Railjet), Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, Nederlandse Spoorwegen Internationaal and Société nationale des chemins de fer belges, as well as the associated member TGV Lyria.
Each of these companies offers high-quality intercity rail services and operates fast, comfortable trains. They aim to ensure the greatest possible continuity of service across the European rail network.
Therefore, should your high speed train from the Railteam alliance be delayed or cancelled, leading you to miss your connection with another high speed train from this alliance, Railteam offers the HOTNAT service* (Hop on the next available train).
For more information, go to www.railteam.eu.
* The HOTNAT service allows travellers to take the next high-speed train leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection. This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions :
- the connection that was missed must be between two cross border high-speed trains of the Railteam Alliance;
- HOTNAT only applies at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains;
- the approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train and seats are not guaranteed.
