Eurostar to Launch London to Antwerp Train Service

Eurostar will launch a direct high-speed train service between London and Antwerp at the end of the year, although there is a caveat.

Antwerp becomes a Eurostar stop

Eurostar has announced that its high-speed trains from London to Amsterdam will also stop in Antwerp when the new railway timetable comes into effect on 14 December.

From 14 December, there will be four daily services from London to Antwerp on weekdays, two on Saturdays, and three on Sundays.

The stop at Antwerpen Centraal – one of the world’s most beautiful railway stations – will reduce the journey time between London and Antwerp to 2 hours and 41 minutes.

Currently, the journey takes around 3.5 hours, as passengers must change trains at Brussels-South and continue to Antwerp on a domestic Belgian service.

Eurostar high-speed train in Amsterdam. ©AndyBTravels

Caveat

Although passengers will be able to travel directly from London to Antwerp with Eurostar from 14 December onwards, the reverse journey will not be available on a direct service.

Trains from Amsterdam to London will continue to pass through Antwerp without stopping, as the station does not have the facilities required for passengers to complete Schengen exit controls and British immigration checks, which are mandatory for Eurostar passengers travelling to the UK.

This means that passengers travelling from Antwerp to the UK will still need to take a domestic train to Brussels-South and connect there onto a Eurostar service.

Eurostar expansion

According to SNCB-NMBS, the Belgian Railways, running a direct train from Antwerp to London would require “important investments” at the station to build a dedicated Eurostar terminal with passport control and a secure waiting area for passengers.

The railway company said that this would be “technically difficult to implement” and that Eurostar has therefore told them it is not planning a direct train service from Antwerp to the UK.

Eurostar did recently sign a memorandum of understanding with the Swiss Federal Railways for the potential launch of a new direct train service from London to Switzerland.

The Eurostar train from London to Amsterdam has arrived at the station in Brussels. ©AndyBTravels

Buy Eurostar tickets

You can book your Eurostar train tickets for travel between the UK and Belgium on the website of NS International, the Dutch Railways.

Use the search tool below to find the best connection for your travel date.

Do you use an Interrail or Eurail Pass for your train travel across Europe? Then it is best to make passholder reservations for the Eurostar through Rail Europe.

Conclusion

Starting on 14 December this year, Eurostar trains from London to Amsterdam will also call at Antwerpen Centraal, the main railway station in Antwerp.

This will make it possible for travellers to take a direct train from London to Belgium’s second-largest city.

However, in the other direction, passengers will still need to take a domestic train to Brussels-South and connect there onto a Eurostar service to London.

This is because Antwerpen Centraal lacks the passport control facilities required to operate a direct train service to the UK.