Eurostar launches direct London to Amsterdam train

There will be two trains a day from London St Pancras to Amsterdam, which will take around three hours and forty minutes, and include calling at Rotterdam. The cheapest non-promotional fares will be £35 each-way and go on sale on Tuesday 20 February.

Although the journey from London will be direct, passengers will have to swap at Brussels on the return journey and so will have to go through passport control and security at this point. Eurostar says that a direct return journey will likely be available from the end of 2019.

Here are the new services:

• 8.31am from London St Pancras arriving in Amsterdam around 1.10pm local time.

• 5.31pm from London St Pancras arriving in Amsterdam around 10.10pm local time.

See 26 Amsterdam MoneySaving Tips to save cash once you're there.

What does Eurostar say?

Nicolas Petrovic, chief executive of Eurostar, said: "The launch of our service to the Netherlands represents an exciting advance in cross-Channel travel and heralds a new era in international high speed rail.

"With direct services from the UK to The Netherlands, France and Belgium, we are transforming the links between the UK and three of Europe’s top trading nations.

"Our new route marks the culmination of the extensive investment in high speed rail on both sides of the Channel. With £1 billion investment in our new state-of the art trains and enhanced connectivity on the European network passengers can now enjoy fast, seamless rail connections between the UK and mainland Europe and a transformed travel experience."

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