I travelled on Eurostar's relaunched Amsterdam to London service – and there were a few hiccups
'Welcome!' said the Eurostar worker, wearing a fluorescent pink bib, as I approached the entrance to the brand new UK Terminal in Amsterdam Central station.
'What's it like?' I asked him.
'Oh, it's like an airport terminal through there,' he replied, giddy with excitement. I was going to ask whether he felt it was more like Luton or Heathrow Terminal 5, but decided to go and find out for myself.
A direct train between London and Amsterdam? If you are feeling a sense of deja vu, it is because we have indeed been here before. Eurostar launched direct services from London to Amsterdam back in 2018, and then from Amsterdam to London two years later, in 2020.
However, due to post-Brexit border complications and major refurbishment works at Amsterdam Central, since June 2024 Eurostar passengers travelling from the Dutch capital to London have had to disembark at Brussels to go through immigration controls there. The process added at least 45 minutes to the journey time.
So this week marks not so much a new beginning but a second coming for the Amsterdam to London route. And, with a bit of luck, a more comfortable experience too. But will it be a smooth journey from here on? Not quite.
I scanned my boarding pass and joined the queue to go through security, and saw that a group of passengers a little ahead of me were giggling at something. It emerged that the queue ran alongside a glass wall, and on the other side of that glass wall was a screen showing the X-rays of passenger luggage. Amsterdammers are known to enjoy having their curtains wide open, allowing all to peer in. Evidently they take a similarly liberal approach to the privacy of passenger belongings.
Before long, a hiccup. The passenger in front of me had an empty coffee cup, and the security worker took it from him and held it, outstretched, like it was splattered with hot manure.
'I didn't see a bin anywhere?' shrugged the passenger. The cup was passed between various members of security staff, until it was handed to another member of staff who walked away to dispose of it. A bin at security would be a good addition, I noted.
I proceeded through the brand-new Orion scanners, showed my passport to the friendly chap at Dutch passport control – ready with fingerprinting and retina scanning technology for the impending EES border checks, due later this year – passed through the UK border, and then walked through to the brand new terminal area.
The terminal certainly felt less hectic than the equivalent spaces at (the admittedly much busier) St Pancras International and Paris Eurostar terminals, which seem to be perennially cramped.
It's more whizzy than anything you'll find in London, Paris or Brussels, too. There are plug sockets aplenty, the Wi-Fi is quick to connect. There are two futuristic looking Brita-filtered water taps, and the LED lighting fluctuates ever so slightly, as if you are on a spaceship. The bathrooms are all contactless, and in the waiting area there appeared to be enough seats for everyone. For now.
The capacity of Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to London is 450 as of this week (up from 250), but they plan to increase this to 650 at some point in the spring or summer. As a result, from March 30 to April 22 the UK Terminal at Amsterdam Central will close once again, to facilitate platform renovations and improve the lifts.
Throw in another 200 passengers, and things might start to feel a little more squished in the UK Terminal. Still, my fellow travellers and I were lucky to be here at all. Not too long ago, there was talk of the route being scrapped entirely.
In September 2024, Eurostar's CEO Gwendoline Cazenave said in an opinion piece in the Dutch newspaper, Financieele Dagblad, that the firm was considering axing its services from Amsterdam due to 'increasing reliability problems, capacity restrictions, and frustrating delays for passengers.' She mentioned speed limits on the high-speed line and the difficulties around the refurbishments at Amsterdam Central.
Thankfully, Eurostar and the Dutch rail firms appear to have patched things up. In a statement this week, Cazenave said: 'We are delighted that direct Eurostar services between Amsterdam and London are back. This is more than just a train journey – it is a seamless connection between two vibrant capitals, offering our customers an efficient, comfortable, and sustainable way to travel.'
Waiting for my train made for thirsty work. Alas, there were no vending machines anywhere, meaning the little cafe pop-up, Stach, has a monopoly on refreshments.
I queued to order a coffee and a welcoming man took my card and walked off with it, holding his wireless card reader up high. He waited for it to connect, twice, before returning my card saying 'don't worry about it.'
The coffee, for what it's worth, was of a high quality, although the customer in front of me was disappointed at the lack of sandwiches on offer, and also the absence of duty free. Soon, Stach will have a more permanent space here, as part of those renovations taking place in the spring.
Ultimately, the UK Terminal at Amsterdam Central can only be a good thing for passengers. Mark Smith (The Man in Seat 61) says: 'London to Amsterdam is a major air route and a huge opportunity for Eurostar, with a competitive four-hour journey, centre to centre.
'Having to halt direct trains in the inbound direction for over six months was a setback, but the new terminal in Amsterdam can process up to 650 passengers – the old one could only process 250. That means they can offer more seats, at decent prices.'
In addition to the increased capacity on its trains, Eurostar plans to run a fourth weekday Amsterdam to London service later in 2025 and there are ambitions for a fifth by 2026.
At 1.25pm, 15 minutes before we were due to depart, we were ushered through an unfinished corridor with exposed pipework and then up some steps to the platform. I feared that they wouldn't be able to board everyone in just 15 minutes. But right on time, at 1.40pm, we rolled out.
Two hours later, when the train arrived into a rainy Brussels, the woman on the tannoy informed passengers travelling to London that they didn't need to disembark the train. A luxury for another six weeks or so. We can only hope that from the end of April, when services resume indefinitely, there will be no more delays on the line.
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