In a couple of months it will take 36 Min's to get to Rotterdam

http://www.nshispeed.nl/en/our-trains/f ... -rotterdam

So it will take 60 Min's to Antwerp.

Does the train for Antwerp go through Rotterdam or do you change there? I'm going to Antwerp in September from Amsterdam. Never been to Belguim before. Any idea of the cost for a day return from Amsterdam to Antwerp. I think the trains are hourly and leave at 40 past each hour.

ok all got the prices. it seems that if you travel with thalys it costs 49.20 on the early bird 0626. Then it cost 68.20 on the 0826 but then for the rest of the day a return cost 57.20. If you travel with ns it costs 37.20 all day & leave at 54 past each hour and run until 2200 from antwerpen. Hope this helps everyone.

Thanks for the info but I'm a little confused: there are multiple train operators on the same stretch of line in NL?

@cocksure : There is the Thalys running between Paris and Amsterdam, in addition to it there is also an Intercity train running between Brussels and Amsterdam, basically cheaper than Thalys. Thalys have a monopoly only on this stretch of line : Paris- Brussels.

Inter-city Express (ICE) seems to be the public one, ie the national train service.

Thalys is a private venture, using the same tracks and same stations and same station-staff but with their own rolling stock and staff. Their trains from NL and BE are all high-speed ones running to Paris, with stops only in cities not towns. I recommend the 1st-class, tho it's a bit of a splurge, if you're going Ams to Paris and back -- the seats are wonderful, there's an on-train meal service with wine and an apperitif that is really quite fine.

Splodge the only stops are Amsterdam ,Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Brussels , ideal for the r/l in Antwerp , it will knock at least an hour of the journey.

Okay, some more differences and explanations:

For a thalys train you have to have a reservation, for a specific train, if you are travelling onAMS to Antwerpen then this does not save much time, if longer then it definitely does. When the new service starts it will save much more time.

Thalys first class is great, Thalys ordinary is good though, definitely better then normal second class ICE and possibly better than than ICE second class.

ICE trains are much more frequent and you don't need a resvervation, althogh at peak tiems (think business trvale here) then you can easily be be left standing unless you are in fist class.

First class ICE (e.g. late evening return to AMS) are almost empty, whenever I have done this I was generally one of three or four people in the carriage. A first class day return is not much more than second class.

Take your own food and drink for the ICE journeys though! I don't kow the pries of food and refreshments on teh Thalys, they are possibly not cheap.

O.K. so somebody help me. ICE? what's that? Thaylis sound like a rip off to me. As for First Class. They can shove it no matter well-off i might be in the future or now? Fuck that shit. I don't care about ponsey bollocx. Just wanna get to my destination. What a load of crap 1st class is!? I'll take normal working-class mode, a shag or two and a few biers. I'll accept the Dutch rail system. 54 past each hour. Nice one. Can't wait! Does anyone know if you can have a few Biers on the Dutch rail system?

ICE = Inter City Express, it is the fastest train there is for most long routes.

The refreshments cars and the guy with the drinks trolley will serve beer, but better to buy some cold ones and drink them, it's cheaper.

You know what I do when Thalys gets too expensive, I take the Eurolines coach. Sometimes you can find great deals that way, last time I booked a round trip Paris Amsterdam for only 19€, I booked several weeks in advance.

Basically when you buy a Thalys ticket a few days in advance it's 130€ for a round trip Paris-Amsterdam, you see the difference ...

thanks for the info dude.

I suppose if i was mega rich then i'd travel 1st class all the time. Must be nice to chill out with loads of leg room.

I've just taken the ICE from Amsterdam to Antwerpen and back. The ICE runs six minutes slower than Thalys does on this route and is usually cheaper. You can take a train that is the Amsterdam to Antwerpen-Brussels route that will not stop at the border or you can board a train that runs from AMS - Roosendaal and switch there for a belgian train, some of which are pretty old and have alot of stops. If you get ICE tickets try to get on the train that doesn't stop at Roosendaal.

P.S. I returned to the airport on my return trip on the more direct train. It ended up being 20 minutes late, not sure what happened. Not sure if Thalys has the same type of problems..

peace

Antwerp may be OK if you take care - see my previous posting:

http://www.ignatzmice.com/WWWBoard/PHPB ... ight#94562