Eurostar 'ghost train' blocks seats to passengers on London to Brussels service

Exclusive: Train operator purports to have a four-hour gap between services from London to the Belgian capital

Eurostar has been accused of “hiding” a train that runs from London to Brussels.

From mid-June, the Channel Tunnel train operator is telling prospective passengers there is a gap of more than four hours between the 8.54am and 12.58pm departures from London St Pancras to Brussels Midi.

This is especially inconvenient for travellers from outside London who wish to use an off-peak ticket to the capital to connect with Eurostar.

The lunchtime train does not arrive in Brussels until 4.08pm, leaving little time before the end of the working day.

Yet even though travellers are told that there are no departures on the route between breakfast and lunchtime, in fact a convenient nonstop train departs London at 11.04am, arriving in Brussels at 2.05pm.

The problem is: it can be booked only by travellers continuing on the train to Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Eurostar launched trains from London to the Netherlands in 2018, with a twice-daily service (one a day at weekends). It has since announced a third daily train, which will be the 11.04am from St Pancras from 11 June onwards. This has added 58 per cent to capacity on the route.

Like the other two services, this departure will stop in Brussels – indeed, the train is scheduled to wait there for 17 minutes awaiting a clear run north to Amsterdam.

Time check: prospective passengers from London to Brussels are not told of the 11.04am train (Eurostar)

One leading European rail expert said: “Hiding a train which provides an essential part of the service to Brussels and beyond is bonkers.

“I can see that Eurostar wants to encourage people to use the service to Amsterdam. But they could do that by upping the price to Brussels. This ‘ghost train’ does no-one any favours.”

Eurostar told The Independent that the seats on the train will be opened up for sale between London and Brussels nearer to departure.

A spokesperson said: “As this train is the new and third direct Amsterdam service the ticket sales are focused on Amsterdam passengers. Which is why it shows up a bit earlier for travellers booking a train to Rotterdam or Amsterdam.”

But the move could infuriate passengers who book a less-than-ideal train only to discover that a better-timed departure was available – but hidden. They may also find that they paid more than they need. On 11 June, the cheapest one-way ticket to Brussels on the breakfast-time train is currently being sold at £67, and at lunchtime £56.

But to Amsterdam or Rotterdam via Brussels on the 11.04am, the fare is only £42.

Anyone who bought a ticket to the Netherlands intending to go no further than Brussels would technically be breaking the rules. Eurostar says: “If you wish to use your ticket for a station other than the one for which it is valid, you will have to pay the appropriate full fare.”

Yet with no exit barrier at Brussels Midi station, it is difficult to see how offending passengers would be identified.

However, there is still a problem for some travellers: because the “ghost train” cannot be booked to Brussels, the valuable option to add on travel to any station in Belgium for a nominal £10 more than the Brussels fare is unavailable.

In the reverse direction from Brussels to London, all trains are open for booking. Eurostar is currently unable to run services from the Netherlands back to Britain because the necessary passport and security infrastructure is not yet in place.

Instead, passengers from Amsterdam and Rotterdam must board the services of another train operator, Thalys, and change at Brussels.

From London to Amsterdam (Eurostar)

Eurostar trains from Amsterdam run back to London in two stages. Departures from the Netherlands carry passengers only as far as Brussels. Trains are then security checked before continuing to London.

The train firm’s decision to remove the train from sale from London to Brussels means the number of apparently available trains on the route falls to just six per day.

British Airways and Brussels Airlines together provide nine daily flights each way, with one-way fares from Heathrow starting at £51.

On the London-Paris run, Eurostar has 16 trains a day.