TRAVEL BLOG
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Equine Espresso
Horse having coffee - Brussels Midi Station
Labels: belgium, brussels, coffee, horse, public-art, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Friday, November 16, 2007
London to Paris and Brussels: Train v Plane
Eurostar has a market share of about 71% of the London-Paris and 64% of the London-Brussels air/rail routes, so it has proved to be the most popular of the two options.
Travel Time
For overall travel time the Eurostar is the quicker option once you factor in travel time to and from airports and minimum required time before flight departure.
There is less hassle to travel on the Eurostar as well. You pass through both countries customs before you board. Clearing customs and baggage screening takes no longer than 20 minutes and you only need to be there 30 minutes before departure.
As you carry your bags onboard and you have already cleared customs, once you reach Paris or Brussels you can walk off the train and straight out of the station.
Wireless
The St Pancras departure lounge has a good laptop work area. Never mind Europe's longest Champagne bar, this may be Europe's longest laptop work bench.
Laptop Work Desk
I was soon to be disappointed though as there is no free wireless service on offer. So far none of London's 5 airports offer a free wireless service and there are currently no airlines that are capable of offering wireless inflight (yet).
Surely Eurostar could strike a blow to their airline competition by offering free wireless in the departure lounges and on the train. If a bus can offer WiFi, then why not a train.
Complimentary Newspapers - Eurostar Departure Lounge
Ticketing
This is where Eurostar, and British trains in general, are way behind the pricing reforms that have swept through the airline industry since the low cost boom. Ticket prices are still structured like the airline tickets of old, where a one way ticket can cost more than a return.
Looking for tickets on the UK site I found one way tickets for £150. Then I searched for a return ticket using the same start date and the total price was £60. So it is more economical to buy a return and not use the return half if you want to travel one way.
The one way price is different again on the US version, and there are price discrepancies, as reported by the Independent, where the same ticket is cheaper if you live in Europe rather than Britain (though cheaper prices in Europe than the UK won't come as a surprise for British readers).
In this age of DIY travel booking, it is easy to travel to one destination and leave from another, so it would be a good option to be able to book a one way train ticket, and return via air from another destination.
Finding cheap Eurostar tickets is easy enough. If you book in advance you can find return tickets for £59.
Eurostar
Note: London-Brussels travel was provided by Eurostar.
Travel Time
For overall travel time the Eurostar is the quicker option once you factor in travel time to and from airports and minimum required time before flight departure.
There is less hassle to travel on the Eurostar as well. You pass through both countries customs before you board. Clearing customs and baggage screening takes no longer than 20 minutes and you only need to be there 30 minutes before departure.
As you carry your bags onboard and you have already cleared customs, once you reach Paris or Brussels you can walk off the train and straight out of the station.
Wireless
The St Pancras departure lounge has a good laptop work area. Never mind Europe's longest Champagne bar, this may be Europe's longest laptop work bench.
Laptop Work Desk
I was soon to be disappointed though as there is no free wireless service on offer. So far none of London's 5 airports offer a free wireless service and there are currently no airlines that are capable of offering wireless inflight (yet).
Surely Eurostar could strike a blow to their airline competition by offering free wireless in the departure lounges and on the train. If a bus can offer WiFi, then why not a train.
Complimentary Newspapers - Eurostar Departure Lounge
Ticketing
This is where Eurostar, and British trains in general, are way behind the pricing reforms that have swept through the airline industry since the low cost boom. Ticket prices are still structured like the airline tickets of old, where a one way ticket can cost more than a return.
Looking for tickets on the UK site I found one way tickets for £150. Then I searched for a return ticket using the same start date and the total price was £60. So it is more economical to buy a return and not use the return half if you want to travel one way.
The one way price is different again on the US version, and there are price discrepancies, as reported by the Independent, where the same ticket is cheaper if you live in Europe rather than Britain (though cheaper prices in Europe than the UK won't come as a surprise for British readers).
In this age of DIY travel booking, it is easy to travel to one destination and leave from another, so it would be a good option to be able to book a one way train ticket, and return via air from another destination.
Finding cheap Eurostar tickets is easy enough. If you book in advance you can find return tickets for £59.
Eurostar
Note: London-Brussels travel was provided by Eurostar.
Labels: brussels, england, eurostar, london, paris, st-pancras, train, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
St Pancras Photos
Eurostar International Foyer.
Eurostar train at St Pancras.
The Meeting Place. That's the name of the statue and the place.
Pancras Road.
Europe's longest Champagne bar.
Depatures to Paris and Brussels.
Visitors from Paris and Brussels can then connect from St Pancras to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. Lucky them.
Labels: england, eurostar, london, st-pancras, train, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Goodbye Waterloo
The 13th of November 2007 is the last day of Eurostar at London Waterloo.
Goodbye Waterloo
While it may have amused the English to have the French arrive at a station named Waterloo, you can be assured that the French were having the last laugh before they even got to the station. Laughing at the slowness of trains in Britain.
Underfunded British railway infrastructure meant that the high speed Eurostar would have to slow down to regular passenger train speed once it emerged on the English side of the tunnel.
As of the 14th of November the Eurostar will operate from St Pancras and will use the new high speed tunnel under London.
Eurostar - Waterloo International
Goodbye Waterloo
While it may have amused the English to have the French arrive at a station named Waterloo, you can be assured that the French were having the last laugh before they even got to the station. Laughing at the slowness of trains in Britain.
Underfunded British railway infrastructure meant that the high speed Eurostar would have to slow down to regular passenger train speed once it emerged on the English side of the tunnel.
As of the 14th of November the Eurostar will operate from St Pancras and will use the new high speed tunnel under London.
Eurostar - Waterloo International
Labels: england, eurostar, london, train-station, waterloo
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Saturday, November 03, 2007
Benelux Rail Pass
If you are planning to travel in Belgium and the Netherlands then you may want to consider a Benelux rail pass. (Benelux stands for BElgium NEtherlands and LUXembourg).
For European residents there is the Benelux pass from InterRailg(16416160)a(392360))
, and for non European residents the Benelux pass is available from Rail Europe
. This pass can be bought at the international ticket department of major train stations, but it may be more convenient to order it before you travel to save time buying it when you arrive.
Plan Your Travel
As with any rail pass you should do some homework beforehand to make sure you will save money from buying a pass.
For example the Benelux pass Adult 2nd class is €139 and is valid for 5 days travels in 30 days. That works out at €27.80 per day of travel. Next you need to look at the map of Benelux to see where you would like to go. If you are only visiting a few places then it will not be worth getting a pass. If you plan to visit many towns and cities then the pass becomes worthwhile.
Next you need to plan how to make the most of the pass by planning your travel days. Making the most of your pass include doing your long distance travel in one day or visiting a few different small towns in one day that require lots of train travel.
Starting your Benelux Pass Travel
People arriving from outside Europe will most likely arrive at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport or Brussels International. If you are coming from another point in Europe then it might work out better to start at on the edges of the region. Some starting points could be:
- Luxembourg Airport
- Charleroi Airport(known as Brussels South)
- Groningen Airport in the north of the Netherlands has flights from Ryanair.
- Maastricht Aachen Airport
visitors from the UK can also get the Dutch Flyer, which is a combined ferry/train ticket from London to Amsterdam for from £25 one way.
Ready to start my Benelux Pass at Gare Centrale Luxembourg
For European residents there is the Benelux pass from InterRail
Plan Your Travel
As with any rail pass you should do some homework beforehand to make sure you will save money from buying a pass.
For example the Benelux pass Adult 2nd class is €139 and is valid for 5 days travels in 30 days. That works out at €27.80 per day of travel. Next you need to look at the map of Benelux to see where you would like to go. If you are only visiting a few places then it will not be worth getting a pass. If you plan to visit many towns and cities then the pass becomes worthwhile.
Next you need to plan how to make the most of the pass by planning your travel days. Making the most of your pass include doing your long distance travel in one day or visiting a few different small towns in one day that require lots of train travel.
Starting your Benelux Pass Travel
People arriving from outside Europe will most likely arrive at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport or Brussels International. If you are coming from another point in Europe then it might work out better to start at on the edges of the region. Some starting points could be:
- Luxembourg Airport
- Charleroi Airport(known as Brussels South)
- Groningen Airport in the north of the Netherlands has flights from Ryanair.
- Maastricht Aachen Airport
visitors from the UK can also get the Dutch Flyer, which is a combined ferry/train ticket from London to Amsterdam for from £25 one way.
Ready to start my Benelux Pass at Gare Centrale Luxembourg
Labels: belgium, benelux, luxembourg, netherlands, train, train-station, travel-deals
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Sunday, October 28, 2007
The lure of European Trains
Whenever I pass a grand European train station I can't help but have a look inside and see what possibilities are on offer. Even though I am in one of the great cities of Europe and not in any hurry to leave, the lure of European train travel is always strong.
Budapest has three main train stations, of which Keleti palyaudvar receives most of the international arrivals and departures.
Keleti Palyaudvar
One afternoon when I wandered past there were trains waiting on the platform for Moscow, Zurich and Venice, with a train for Bucharest listed on the departure board.
Budapest Keleti Departure Board
Moszkva Train
Venezia Train
Zurich Train
Budapest has three main train stations, of which Keleti palyaudvar receives most of the international arrivals and departures.
Keleti Palyaudvar
One afternoon when I wandered past there were trains waiting on the platform for Moscow, Zurich and Venice, with a train for Bucharest listed on the departure board.
Budapest Keleti Departure Board
Moszkva Train
Venezia Train
Zurich Train
Labels: budapest, hungary, train, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Saturday, June 30, 2007
Earls Court Station Renovation - Part II
In May I passed through the Earls Court tube station and it was undergoing a major renovation. I went through Earls Court again today and there is still scaffolding everywhere. They have unveiled the new destination boxes, but they still have the old ones up as well.
New destination box - Earls Court
New destination box - Earls Court
Labels: earls-court, england, london, train-station, tube
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Guardian Angel - Zurich Hauptbahnhof
The Guardian Angel by Niki de St. Phalle can be seen floating high in the cavernous space of the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.
Labels: public-art, switzerland, train-station, zurich
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Monday, May 14, 2007
Earls Court Station Renovation
One of my favourite tube stations in London is Earls Court. There are these old destination display boxes there that give you a hint of an era long gone.
Earls Court has got scaffolding everywhere at the moment and their are some boxes wrapped up that look suspiciously like new destination boxes. I hope they are not planning to remove the classic old ones.
Old destination Box Earls Court
Earls Court Renovation
Earls Court has got scaffolding everywhere at the moment and their are some boxes wrapped up that look suspiciously like new destination boxes. I hope they are not planning to remove the classic old ones.
Old destination Box Earls Court
Earls Court Renovation
Labels: earls-court, england, london, metro, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A touch of Europe in Melbourne
In train stations across Europe you will find Relay newsagencies. Whenever I'm on the rails in Europe I usually find myself scanning over the papers in the international section to see what is going on in the world.
Relay have now come to Melbourne at the magnificent Southern Cross Station. Whenever I walk past this shop I am reminded of train stations of Europe.
Southern Cross Station
Relay have now come to Melbourne at the magnificent Southern Cross Station. Whenever I walk past this shop I am reminded of train stations of Europe.
Southern Cross Station
Labels: australia, melbourne, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
The Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station) was opened on May 26, 2006. It is now Europe's largest and most modern crossing station. In fact it is so modern that if it wasn't for the trains you could think you were at an airport.
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
Hauptbahnhof Levels
Hauptbahnhof Platform
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
Hauptbahnhof Levels
Hauptbahnhof Platform
Labels: berlin, germany, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Saturday, September 09, 2006
European train station cafes
One of the many things that makes train travel in Europe such a civilised and viable option is the train station cafeteria. Jerez de la Frontera, for example, isn't a primary rail station but its cafe is nice enough to not mind having to wait half an hour until your train arrives.
Jerez Train Station Cafeteria
Jerez Train Station Cafeteria
Labels: cafe, jerez-de-lafrontera, spain, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Platform 9 3/4 - Kings Cross
Platform 9 3/4
You'll want platform 9 and 3/4 for the Hogwarts Express.
Labels: england, hogwarts-express, kings-cross, london, platform 9 3/4, train-station
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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