Sail Rail London - Netherlands

[gordonthemoron]

Is the any dutch station rail ticket valid to Roosendaal on the NS International service to Antwerp? If so, can I just buy a return Roosendaal-Antwerp?

 

[radamfi]

Is the any dutch station rail ticket valid to Roosendaal on the NS International service to Antwerp? If so, can I just buy a return Roosendaal-Antwerp?

All regular tickets are valid on the Den Haag - Rotterdam - Dordrecht - Roosendaal - Antwerpen - Brussels service, so you can join a Rail Sail ticket to a return from Roosendaal to Antwerpen.

For convenience, you can book that online and print off your ticket from the SNCB website. You can use the ticket on any train that day. SNCB have both international and domestic ticket websites and tickets from Belgium to Roosendaal can be bought from both websites. If you use the domestic website, then you need to choose "TICKETS ROOSENDAAL" as the ticket type.

The service will again start from Amsterdam from the new timetable which starts on Sunday.

It would be interesting to know what kind of ticket you get at Harwich. You used to get a regular yellow Dutch paper ticket saying "valid to any Dutch station" but I wonder whether they now give you disposable smart cards?

 

[gordonthemoron]

previously i got the dutch ticket in the post, now i see you pick it up at harwich

 

[radamfi]

previously i got the dutch ticket in the post, now i see you pick it up at harwich

That option may still be available. I have only ever printed out my ticket which you show to the guard on the train in England and then got my Dutch tickets in Harwich.

 

[dutchflyer]

for Rsd-Ant you can choose in fact: IF you do not have any discount on NS, then mostly the one ordered via b-rail is cheaper, IF you do it depends on when you go, if you return same day etc if either or is cheaper-but the difference wont be that big anyway.
b-rail works that it adds 1,80 per way for Rsd-Essen (station, not border), and combines this with any normal domestic fare ex Essen. And for you Brits: does not matter if that trains stops there or not.
65+ can thus use the Belgian senior return (6 eur+2x1,80=9.60) to any NMBS-stop. Youth <26 ditto for single- 7,80.

 

[317666]

I travelled using Rail and Sail in March, and collected a standard NS paper ticket at Harwich. This had to be validated at a 'stempelautomaat' on the platform at Hoek van Holland before boarding the train. Had no problems using it as far as Roosendaal and an NMBS ticket forward like you're planning to though.

 

[gordonthemoron]

belgianrail.be is certainly cheaper for tickets, around €6 each way as opposed to €10 or so each way with ns.nl

 

[radamfi]

This had to be validated at a 'stempelautomaat' on the platform at Hoek van Holland before boarding the train.

Have all these machines been removed or taken out of service by now?

 

[317666]

Have all these machines been removed or taken out of service by now?

There were still a few on the platform at Hoek van Holland Haven back in March, but only one of them was in use.

 

[radamfi]

There were still a few on the platform at Hoek van Holland Haven back in March, but only one of them was in use.

But paper tickets stopped being sold in the summer (replaced by single use smartcards) so there would in general be no use for these machines.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stempelautomaat

says they were used until 9 July to stamp an undated ticket and now only exist on local buses in Almere.

 

[burns20]

What would be the minimum check in time allowed from arriving at Harwich International to check in closing?

 

[radamfi]

What would be the minimum check in time allowed from arriving at Harwich International to check in closing?

http://www.stenaline.co.uk/routes/harwich-hook-of-holland

0900 and 2315 (45 minutes before departure).

 

[burns20]

So arriving on the 2217 arrival from Manningtree would be too tight

 

[radamfi]

So arriving on the 2217 arrival from Manningtree would be too tight

I wouldn't recommend it, although of course it arrives before the 45 minute deadline.

 

[30907]

The 2228 through arrival from London is surely designed to connect? It is no longer recommended by Stena admittedly, though it was until a couple of years ago, and I'd prefer to get on board earlier myself.

During the Olympics the ferry was scheduled later to allow for extra passengers using the 2102 ex LST.

Ferries don't routinely don't deny boarding if you miss the deadline there's ample reserve in the schedule, so it would at least be worth checking with Stena.

 

[montmorency]

Anyone know if there is really any reason why they could not re-instate the direct London-Harwich "boat train" service from days of yore, or is it another example of the UK "fog in Channel - continent cut off" mentality?

 

[30907]

If you mean a service that runs non stop, I suspect the answer is partly that these days there is a demand from places like Chelmsford and Colchester as well as London, and partly that the total demand doesn't add up to a trainload. At the Hoek end the international trains are long gone, and even the through Amsterdam EMU hasn't run since IIRC the HSS was taken off.

If you mean a decent loco hauled set, for the night boats it would mean swapping with one of the Norwich workings at a time when they are well loaded - and the day boats are inconveniently timed at the UK end. I fear that's wishful thinking.

 

[montmorency]

If you mean a service that runs non stop, I suspect the answer is partly that these days there is a demand from places like Chelmsford and Colchester as well as London, and partly that the total demand doesn't add up to a trainload. At the Hoek end the international trains are long gone, and even the through Amsterdam EMU hasn't run since IIRC the HSS was taken off.

If you mean a decent loco hauled set, for the night boats it would mean swapping with one of the Norwich workings at a time when they are well loaded - and the day boats are inconveniently timed at the UK end. I fear that's wishful thinking.

Hi 30907,

Thanks for your reply.
I didn't mean non-stop necessarily; just not having to change at Manningtree. Have always seemed to have to do that, and it involved crossing over via the underpass, which isn't fun with heavy luggage. Or was I just unlucky, and isn't this always necessary?


Yes, I later remembered that things are also not so good as they used to be at the Dutch side, which is sad. But I would have thought that given that the London to Harwich & Hoek service is (at least indirectly) competing with Eurostar, they (on the UK side at least) might have made more of an effort to make it easier to use.


I guess ferries, like sleepers are a dying breed. It doesn't seem all that long ago that you could get to Cuxhaven (and before that I think, Hamburg) from Harwich. And I was sad to learn that the Esbjerg service had recently stopped (or will soon if it hasn't).

 

[radamfi]

There are direct trains from Liverpool Street to Harwich. There are simply more journey opportunities by changing.

The line from Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam will soon be converted to become part of the Rotterdam metro, so there won't even be a mainline train service at Hoek van Holland.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
As I expected, the ferry no longer sell regular Dutch train tickets on board. Nor the bicycle supplement tickets. But they sell day tickets for 17 euros. These are the same ones that they sell at Eindhoven airport for 25 euros. They are on disposable smartcards and can be used any day until July 2016. They are activated by touching in at a barrier or post on the platform.

It would be still interesting to know what foot passengers get these days. Maybe they get those day tickets.

 

[30907]

Hi 30907,

Thanks for your reply.
I didn't mean non-stop necessarily; just not having to change at Manningtree. Have always seemed to have to do that, and it involved crossing over via the underpass, which isn't fun with heavy luggage. Or was I just unlucky, and isn't this always necessary?

Sorry, misunderstood. As Radamfi says, it isn't now necessary: a reasonably timed train for the night boat (arriving about when check in opens) has run for a few years. The Sunday connection involved a change at Colchester, but the current timetable shows a detachment from a Clacton service (I suspect it may have happened prior to the timetable change also).

 

[zuriblue]

The 2228 through arrival from London is surely designed to connect? It is no longer recommended by Stena admittedly, though it was until a couple of years ago, and I'd prefer to get on board earlier myself.

During the Olympics the ferry was scheduled later to allow for extra passengers using the 2102 ex LST.

Ferries don't routinely don't deny boarding if you miss the deadline there's ample reserve in the schedule, so it would at least be worth checking with Stena.

One thing to be careful of at the moment is that the pedestrian gangway at Harwich is U/S so foot passengers are being bussed to the ferry, dropped off at the lowest level. this might have a bearing on the cutoff time as the bus actually goes on board and turns round and, depending on loading, there might be a point where this is no longer possible.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I'm in Antwerp now and the train was fine including the Roosendaal-Antwerp ticket. However, on the return I was wondering how to validate our OV Chip Cards in Holland. I'm not keen on leaping off the train at Roosendaal as it's only a 1 minute stop.

 

[atillathehunn]

I'm in Antwerp now and the train was fine including the Roosendaal-Antwerp ticket. However, on the return I was wondering how to validate our OV Chip Cards in Holland. I'm not keen on leaping off the train at Roosendaal as it's only a 1 minute stop.

They validate the kaart on the train. Or they did the last time I went that way a couple of weeks ago.

 

[pne]

It doesn't seem all that long ago that you could get to Cuxhaven (and before that I think, Hamburg) from Harwich.

Yes, I remember that in my childhood, ferries sailed from Hamburg (where I live) to Harwich.

Then it later became necessary to travel to Cuxhaven or Esbjerg to catch the ferry.

 

[jon0844]

Now you pretty much need to drive to Harwich to get to Harwich.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Now you pretty much need to drive to Harwich to get to Harwich.

no you don't, train connections are fine, direct train from/to LST morning and evening sailing plus changing at Manningtree. Also trains from/to Cambridge

 

[30907]

no you don't, train connections are fine, direct train from/to LST morning and evening sailing plus changing at Manningtree. Also trains from/to Cambridge

I think jonmorris0844 was ironically referring to the drive across N Europe.

But then you were probably being ironic too, now I think of it.

I'll go and do the ironic ironing before this gets out of hand.☺

 

[gordonthemoron]

The OV Chipkart you get given at Harwich is actually a one day travel card which you can use as much as you like on the day of arrival/departure

 

[30907]

The OV Chipkart you get given at Harwich is actually a one day travel card which you can use as much as you like on the day of arrival/departure

That's worth knowing, thanks.