Engineering work Antwerp 11th January - no Eurocity Direct

[johncrossley]

I have a booking on Eurocity Direct 0835 Antwerpen Centraal to Rotterdam.

This is no longer running according to the journey planner. Eurocity (not Direct) is stopping at Antwerpen Berchem instead. Eurocity Direct is running non-stop from Rotterdam to Brussels.

Am I allowed to use Eurocity (not Direct)? Eurocity Direct tickets are normally not valid on Eurocity.

Can I get a full refund? Normally there is a 5 EUR fee but arguably I should get a full refund as the advertised service is no longer available.

 

[dutchflyer]

Has been answeed on the NS community-which I just read 10 mins ago. Additional: in Antwerp CS and Berchem are by train just 3 mins apart and have normally up to 20/22 trains/hr between, ANY train serving it from the south does both stops. About same-same as in BRU Midi to Central, or in LON Ch Cross till over the Bridge. So not much ado.
However, I DK if the works on that weekend will also affect this-for that you have to check b-rail, the official Belgian rail planner website.
Dep.-if you happen to stay somewhere in Ant that day: from Berchem are near as many citytrams as from near/close by Centr. Again: just as in LON it hardly matters where you enter the UnderGround
Crossley! Grat-and then came Leyland! as major bus-chassis maker here in NL

 

[johncrossley]

Yes, I posted the same question on the NS forum. Why can't Eurocity Direct stop at Antwerpen Berchem instead of Anterpen Centraal? The same applies to Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains from Amsterdam to Paris. Passengers from Antwerp to Paris now have to change in Brussels. The Eurostar website won't even allow bookings for the next three weekends. (The calendar shows 4/5, 11/12 and 18/19 January all in grey, indicating no tickets available)

 

[Struner]

they sold you a ticket for a train that doesn’t run?

 

[Jan Mayen]

Are there really two different services with a a similar name?

 

[johncrossley]

they sold you a ticket for a train that doesn’t run?

Presumably the engineering work wasn't known when I bought the ticket.

 

[nwales58]

Are there really two different services with a a similar name?

Even better. Two different logos!

https://www.nsinternational.com/en/out-and-about/eurocity-direct-1

Scroll down the page to see the map with blue and red lines then all will be clear.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Even better. Two different logos!

https://www.nsinternational.com/en/out-and-about/eurocity-direct-1

Scroll down the page to see the map with blue and red lines then all will be clear.

Many thanks!

 

[johncrossley]

Are there really two different services with a a similar name?

In the Netherlands, NS trains that don't stop at all stops are branded either "Intercity" and "Intercity Direct". Intercity Direct is for trains using the high speed line north of Rotterdam, so "Eurocity Direct" follows the same naming pattern.

 

[Struner]

Presumably the engineering work wasn't known when I bought the ticket.

so yes

 

[johncrossley]

so yes

Are you surprised by this? I didn't think it was such a rare thing. It wouldn't matter so much if Eurocity Direct simply stopped in Antwerpen Berchem instead.

 

[43096]

Are there really two different services with a a similar name?

Yes, there are.

It is yet another watering down of the EuroCity brand/service category. NS presumably applying the same logic as they do the internal InterCity Direct services - just in this case the quality of the train is nowhere near good enough for a EuroCity service - the new ICNG units perpetuate NS being stuck in the 1980s with their naff plastic overed seats.

Meanwhile the Belgians - no strangers to downgrading the EC brand - have invented an entirely new EuroCity logo for their operation to Rotterdam rather than use the EC standard.

It is, frankly, an utter mess.

 

[Struner]

Are you surprised by this? I didn't think it was such a rare thing. It wouldn't matter so much if Eurocity Direct simply stopped in Antwerpen Berchem instead.

somebody sold you a ticket for a train that doesn’t run. speculations about what some providers of your service could, let alone should (self-indulgend springs to mind), do , won’t help you.
have you contacted your supplier about this?

 

[johncrossley]

have you contacted your supplier about this?

I bought the ticket from SNCB but checked with NS International online chat who said I could use the Eurocity, including the train from Antwerpen Centraal to Antwerpen Berchem, which is what I will do. NS International was easier as SNCB don't have online chat. I suppose I could have got a refund and rebooked the Eurocity as it is a cheaper fare, but I don't want the hassle.

 

[Amalie]

Not to excuse the Dutch or Belgians, but they’re not alone in the degradation of EuroCity services. The Danish Copenhagen to Hamburg service is also classified as an EuroCity despite it lacking any catering. The EuroCity logo used by the Belgians might be different from the ol’ “square angled one,” however it does look a lot like the new one used for Trenitalia EuroCity trains.

Ironically, the original rules for what is required for a train service to classify as EuroCity was made by the Dutch.

Nevertheless, I’m getting a bit too off topic here.

Anyway, my theory is that EuroCity Direct trains don’t stop at Antwerpen Berchem because of the low platform heights. Unlike the locomotive hauled carriages, I don’t think that the ICNG has any climbable step ladders under its doors (besides the one for the driver).

 

[Struner]

[…] I suppose I could have got a refund and rebooked the Eurocity as it is a cheaper fare, but I don't want the hassle.

indeed, I know the feeling. save journey!

 

[rvdborgt]

I bought the ticket from SNCB but checked with NS International online chat who said I could use the Eurocity, including the train from Antwerpen Centraal to Antwerpen Berchem, which is what I will do. NS International was easier as SNCB don't have online chat.

They do have Facebook chat, which worked well for me on a few occasions. You need to be on FB to be able to use it of course.

 

[johncrossley]

They do have Facebook chat, which worked well for me on a few occasions. You need to be on FB to be able to use it of course.

Worth knowing, thanks.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Jan 2025 ==

Anyway, my theory is that EuroCity Direct trains don’t stop at Antwerpen Berchem because of the low platform heights. Unlike the locomotive hauled carriages, I don’t think that the ICNG has any climbable step ladders under its doors (besides the one for the driver).

But what about Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to Paris? They are the same old trains that used to stop there before the underground line through Antwerpen Centraal opened. They are also running non-stop from Brussels to Rotterdam.

 

[DanielB]

what about Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to Paris? They are the same old trains that used to stop there before the underground line through Antwerpen Centraal opened. They are also running non-stop from Brussels to Rotterdam.

AFAIK Antwerpen-Berchem doesn't have the same platform height on all platforms. Nowadays the line avoiding Centraal connects to the low platforms, but I suppose that has been different in the past as the track layout will have changed when the through platforms of Centraal were connected in such a way that they connect to the fast lines towards Brussels.

 

[rvdborgt]

AFAIK Antwerpen-Berchem doesn't have the same platform height on all platforms. Nowadays the line avoiding Centraal connects to the low platforms, but I suppose that has been different in the past as the track layout will have changed when the through platforms of Centraal were connected in such a way that they connect to the fast lines towards Brussels.

Layout hasn't changed that much. Platforms 1 and 4 in Berchem were used for the Amsterdam-Brussels trains while the tunnel was being constructed, and are being used this weekend by the Brussels-Rotterdam EC trains. There are indeed deemed to be too low though for the IC NG stock.

 

[bevince]

Anyway, my theory is that EuroCity Direct trains don’t stop at Antwerpen Berchem because of the low platform heights. Unlike the locomotive hauled carriages, I don’t think that the ICNG has any climbable step ladders under its doors (besides the one for the driver).

This is indeed the correct reason why EuroCity Direct trains don’t stop at Antwerpen-Berchem as mentioned in following Flemish newspaper article (in Dutch) https://m.gva.be/cnt/dmf20250103_97274447

AFAIK Antwerpen-Berchem doesn't have the same platform height on all platforms. Nowadays the line avoiding Centraal connects to the low platforms, but I suppose that has been different in the past as the track layout will have changed when the through platforms of Centraal were connected in such a way that they connect to the fast lines towards Brussels.

To make things a bit more complicated, Belgium has three different platform heights. (280, 550 and 760 mm)

According to an Infrabel dataset Antwerpen-Centraal only has high platforms. Antwerpen-Berchem has low platforms on platforms 2, 3 and 6. All other Berchem platforms have the middle height.
Apparently, ICNG can only be used on 760 mm platforms.

Link to dataset: Opendata.infrabel.be

But what about Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to Paris? They are the same old trains that used to stop there before the underground line through Antwerpen Centraal opened. They are also running non-stop from Brussels to Rotterdam

Eurostar Red trains should indeed be able to use Antwerpen-Berchem. However, during engineering works, it seems to have been their policy to take the easy way out and skip Antwerp altogether. They simply don’t sell tickets to and from Antwerp during weekends with works in Antwerp and sell some extra tickets for other routes. That's probably an advantage of having sold out trains most of the time.