Not Your Usual Eurostar: Paris to Brussels in Eurostar Premier Class

Before watching this video I thought the E320 was used solely on cross-Channel services.

Fantastic video as always! I must say that the trains shake much less in the UK on HS1 and in Belgium on HSL compared to the high-speed line in France. YEurostar have improved their on board catering especially in Eurostar plus. I actually enjoy their meals now 😂

Beau voyage, du Grand ART 🎨

Eurostar announced on 31 October that its high-speed train service between Amsterdam and London, suspended since 15 June, would resume in early 2025.

Eurostar cross-Channel trains suspended until 2025, Brussels-Zuild becomes new temporary terminal to London

It's very long! Eurostar's Eurostar Blue e320, formerly British Rail Class 374, has nothing in common with Deutsche Bahn's Velaro ICE3. In fact, its 16-car design has been adapted to Eurotunnel's specific safety standards. It is equipped with the latest fire safety standards, watertight doors, a fire extinguisher and can exit the tunnel in the event of a catenary break, thanks to an additional battery module.

When it was launched between London and Paris in 2015, the alliance between Siemens and Alstom even made headlines, but Brussels vetoed it in 2019. In May 2017, the service was also launched on the London-Brussels route. Since April 2018, the Velaro has also been running between London and Amsterdam via Brussels. There are currently 17 trains in service.

The Siemens e320 is the only 400-meter-long train designed for passenger evacuation on the communication branches connected to the service tunnel, located every 375 meters. Unlike TMST Alstom.

In 2022, Eurostar Ltd and THI Factory (Thalys) merged to form a holding company, Groupe Eurostar, owned 100% by Eurostar Ltd and 100% by THI Factory, which previously owned 100% of Thalys. SNCF Voyageurs is the majority shareholder, with a 55.75% stake. Although the merger has been effective since 2022, it had been planned for 2019, but poor results following a 95% drop in traffic, and a failed turnaround despite the modernization of Thalys trains, almost made the name and the trains disappear, which would have been the worst-case scenario as Eurostar Ltd was also in the red.

Eurostar is far more promising than the Thalys name, acquired by a holding company created in 2022 which owns 100% of Eurostar. Following this Thalys merger, approved by the European Commission, a holding company, Eurostar Group, was created. Eurostar Group is backed by SNCF (55.75%), CDQP (19.31%), SNCB (18.5%) and Federated Hermes Infrastructure (6.44%). Eurostar is majority-owned by SNCF voyages, whose president Gwendoline Cazenave is the former director of SNCF voyages, the SNCF subsidiary that runs the TGV à Oui. In 2015, British Rail sold its assets to CDQP, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Federated Hermes Infrastructure.

CDPQ is Alstom's main shareholder!

Only the Eurostar brand will be retained permanently in October 2023. With Eurostar Blue, for cross-Channel traffic, Eurostar Red ex Thalys to Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam (9 TGV 3800 PBA) and Liège, Düsseldorf, Cologne (17 TGV 4300 PBKA). Eurostar Snow once a season for winter sports and Eurostar Sun to discover the south of France all year round.

By 2030, Amsterdam's central station will no longer be the hub for international rail traffic to and from the capital. It will be Amsterdam South. Anyone travelling from London or Paris to Amsterdam by Eurostar from 2030 onwards will no longer arrive in the heart of the city, but in the south. The old terminal is due to disappear completely by 2024. While Amsterdam Central's current location is well suited to the large number of tourists who can explore the city directly from the station, it is far from the offices and workplaces of the Dutch people who travel there. From now on, the new terminal should be operational and in use until at least 2036. Amsterdam Zuid station will then be ready for international traffic, close to this new tertiary zone called Zuidas. It will be one of the biggest economic hubs in the Netherlands, with direct connections from Amsterdam Schiphol international airport, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Utrecht and Cologne with NS international. To accommodate Eurostar trains, the station will be equipped with a fifth and sixth track, at a cost of no less than 200 million euros to the central and regional governments. The expansion of the rail network in the capital is necessary, as the number of passengers in the Amsterdam region is set to increase considerably in the coming years. In addition, the number of tracks at Amsterdam Central Station will be reduced, but not the number of platforms. As the current platforms are too narrow for the expected increase in passenger numbers from 200,000 to 275,000 per day by 2030, it is planned to remove the middle of the three tracks between two platforms. This will reduce station capacity, as trains running simultaneously on two platforms will no longer be able to use the middle track. This is also one of the reasons why international connections pass through Amsterdam South. Since Great Britain left the European Union, passengers have had to go through customs at the station. The new terminal will offer more space. This means that in future, 600 passengers will be able to travel by train instead of the current 350.

Good video but I’m knew here. No narration?

Dude, I'm from Russia, I recently found your channel due to the fact that the name is in Russian)
respect to you for this separately.
You're the best!)

P.s. Sorry for the mistakes in the text

Rode Eurostar from London to Amsterdam earlier this week in standard class. The train was nice and efficient but the seat was uncomfortable. Couldn't wait to get off.

What happened with your seat? You switched?

wtf did Eurostar change their logo

Bonjour à toi, cette vidéo est tout simplement excellente et très informative. En vrai je trouve ca pas mal de voir les E320 sur les routes ex Thalys, ca change un peu des PBA et PBKA circulant sur ces routes. De + j'ai toujours apprécié ces trains qui sont pour moi confortable et rapide comme les autres types de "TGV" ainsi que leurs couleurs extérieures que j'apprécie énormément. Donc je te lâche 1 like pour ta vidéo 👍🏽

Whatis the difference bvetween the French Oui and Ouigo? Too many duplicate services are confusing.🤷‍♂

I always want to see the cafe and see how it compares to the original Eurostar bistro. It looks pretty cramped from a distance but I may be wrong.

수고 많으셨습니다. 영상 잘 봤습니다. KTX 도 초장기에 TGV 를 들여와서 출발했기에 저상 플랫폼인 열차, 역 풍경이 낯설지가 않네요. 언제가는 열차의 탄생지인 유럽 지역 철도 여행을
반드시 하려고 계획하고 있습니다.

Really enjoyed the video, as usual. It seems to me either Eurostar should have made arrangements with another company's lounge or offered a partial refund for their lounge being closed. Lounges are a big perk with Premier and other First Class Products.

I took this e320 train ER9322 from Brussels to Paris on Tuesday 26 November. I was amazed to learn that the e320s are now deployed on the intra-schengen route. I thought they were only serving cross channel services. The train was quite full but was disappointed the screens where broken

Great trip. It's a rare sight to see the original Eurostar running on Continental route without going into London. Bit curious, is there any plan for original Eurostar running on Full Thalys route in the future?

Merci
Bienvenue en France 🇫🇷😁
Nice video ❤

Hello super video

I wonder what the occupancy rate is of this service

Thiabault … so concerning the meal … I recognized the mini slice of cheese and the butter and round piece of bread. But that was it. What else was on that tray? And was there a separate main entree that you didn’t capture? 🧐

NO ONE helping the disabled guy hop in the trains tells me all i need to know about the French.

Ils circulent aussi sur des missions bruxelles-amsterdam =))

Theoretically, the PBA and PBKA fleets would have been capable of running on the Cross-Channel routes if they had compatible signalling equipment

They best not put any of those nasty Ex Thalys Red trains to London, no thank you. 🤢🤮