I’m planning to travel from London to Osnabrueck via Brussels and Koeln at the end of this month. The train from Brussels to Koeln has a reservation fee that depends on what time you catch the train. If I buy a reservation, and then miss the connection because Eurostar is late, what happens then? If the next train has a more expensive reservation fee, do I pay the difference, or what?
This must be such a common issue - but never had to do this before.
TIA!
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No, if you miss a (cheaper) ICE train, you have to buy a new reservation for the (more expensive) Eurostar if this is even possible then. DB and Eurostar are competitors on this route.
Remember that Eurostar trains have limited passholder seats so they can sell out before the train is actually full. So book them early.
I’d suggest to take the ICE train from Brussels and plan enough margin in Brussels. Also plan enough margin for the change in Cologne as DB trains are often late.
The Eurostar is the most likely to be on time.
If you miss the ICE either wait 2h, go by regional trains (Liège - Welkenraedt - Aachen) or travel via Amsterdam (hourly IC + IC towards Berlin every 2h).
It shouldn't be a big deal. The connection in Cologne might be riskier, esp. as the line from Brussels is currently closed due to a truck falling on the tracks -> 60-90 min detour as a result.
In Brussels, HOTNAT (Hop On The Next Avalable Train) of Railteam is possible between Eurostar and ICE, I would ask at the ticket office for a new free reservation.
Thanks for the replies: I’m not a big Eurostar traveller but the last time we travelled there was a huge delay caused by signalling issues at St Pancras.
We have booked to Brussels - so going to Amsterdam isn’t possible now.
We decided to risk it and pay for reservations on the Brussels - Koeln train with a 20 minute gap. One thing I noticed when paying for the reservation was a warning that conductors don’t accept e-reservations - you have to have a paper copy. That doesn’t seem right? How would it work if you change your plans while travelling? Did I misunderstand?
I rather meant take the hourly reservation-free IC from Brussels to Amsterdam and then another IC. The more you avoid Germany the less delays you might encounter lol. For example:
- IC Brussels-Midi - Amsterdam Centraal 12:45 - 15:35
- IC Amsterdam Centraal - Osnabrück Hbf 15:59 - 18:51 (3€ reservation but not enforced)
Btw if you travel on an Amsterdam-bound Eurostar, you're late and you miss the connection in Brussels feel free to speak to Eurostar staff. They'll gladly let you continue to Amsterdam.
The reservations can be shown from your phone (PDF you received). Don't worry.
You must always show the Rail Planner app with the correct journey logged. This can be altered at any point. In addition sometimes they ask for reservations, sometimes they don't.
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