Buying CIV Ticket to Nottingham

Travelling from Brussels to Nottingham on Monday, 26 October 2026, arriving into St Pancras at 11:57.

We are a party of 4, 3 adults & 1 child.

We have the following railcards

1 Disabled Persons Railcard (adult)
1 Family and Friends Railcard - both named holders travelling but one also holds the disabled railcard.
1 16-25 Railcard (not named on Family and Friends).

The person with the disabled railcard is unable to stand for anything over a few minutes but does not require a wheelchair. (Something like a long security queue, or passport check would be very problematic.). Walking is ok, it's the standing still that is an issue.

I am concerned about the strikes on EMR and reports about seat reservations not being available. Having a reserved seat is a priority.

I was wondering about travelling via Grantham. I'm aware that seating isn't bookable between Grantham and Nottingham but I think the likelihood of not obtaining a seat that way is low.

I've the following questions really.

Can I buy a CIV ticket with only a single from Brussels to a UK destination?

Which ticket should I buy? I see various CIV type tickets listed.

I believe I have to go in person to buy these tickets taking the booking confirmation for Eurostar? Is there anywhere that they can be purchased on line.

Many thanks

With respect to not being able to stand, Brussels can have long security queues so I’d look into e.g. booking assistance with Eurostar.

Other than that, the answer to your first question is ‘yes’ and for your third question, you can book online but I’m not sure how many retailers offer them - I know the forum’s site (a reskin of trainsplit.com) will. You might find this easier than trying to get it from a ticket office, as these aren’t sold too often so a ticket office clerk might not know what you want. When booking online, you want ‘London International (for Eurostar)’ as your origin station (or just use its code ‘LNE’)

I’ll let someone with more local knowledge advise on the best trains / tickets for London -> Nottingham.

Steveoh said:

I am concerned about the strikes on EMR

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The EMR strikes have so far affected Saturdays. Other days of the week have seen a timetable reduction and some unreliability but I wouldn't avoid the service just because of that.

Bear in mind that the situation in October may look somewhat different (i.e. better) than today's, and moreover there would be at least a week or so advance notice of any strike, which would give plenty of time to make alternative arrangements.

Steveoh said:

and reports about seat reservations not being available. Having a reserved seat is a priority.

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EMR have suspended all (real) seat reservations at the moment, so you won't get one if you use their services to/from London. You could buy a first class ticket if you want to virtually guarantee a seat - some of their Advances can be reasonable at less popular times.

Since you'd be boarding at the origin (St Pancras), you would have a good chance of getting a seat in standard class as well, especially if you book Passenger Assist as I believe they're likely to let you onto the platform/train earlier.

Steveoh said:

I was wondering about travelling via Grantham. I'm aware that seating isn't bookable between Grantham and Nottingham but I think the likelihood of not obtaining a seat that way is low.

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Both LNER and Hull Trains offer real seat reservations from Kings Cross to Grantham and it's only a short leg to Nottingham from there. That being said, Grantham-Nottingham can be done either using Norwich-Liverpool or Skegness-Nottingham services. The former can be very busy as most services are formed of only 2 coaches and it's a popular route connecting key cities and main lines. Skegness-Nottingham at that time of year is unlikely to be as busy so it might be better to aim for an ex-Skegness service.

Steveoh said:

I've the following questions really.

Can I buy a CIV ticket with only a single from Brussels to a UK destination?

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Yes, although it is unlikely to be worthwhile as it is more expensive than buying a conventional London Terminals ticket. There is little benefit in buying a CIV ticket over a conventional one, as it doesn't offer any additional legal protections (as explained in this thread). You would still be permitted to travel on a later service if you miss your booked train due to Eurostar delays, even on a London Terminals ticket.

Steveoh said:

Which ticket should I buy? I see various CIV type tickets listed.

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If you're buying a CIV ticket, you only have the choice of a Euro High Saver or a Euro Standard ticket. The former has lighter time restrictions on arrivals into London than a typical Off-Peak ticket on the EMR route (valid from 10:11), and has no evening restrictions departing London. So the High Saver would be the obvious choice.

However there's no 'single leg pricing' on those fares, so you're going to pay nearly 100% of the cost of a return if you're buying a single. If you're going back to Belgium within 2 months then it's potentially more worthwhile, as one of the little known benefits of a CIV return is that it has this extended validity on the return portion.

Steveoh said:

I believe I have to go in person to buy these tickets taking the booking confirmation for Eurostar? Is there anywhere that they can be purchased on line.

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They can be bought online through the forum site (or any other TrainSplit variant), BR Fares or the Avanti website. There may be other retailers too, but those are the ones I know of.

Thank you both. The forum always amazes me with its knowledge.
I neglected to ask if there is a minimum connection time. I've tried looking on BR Times and can see that 'LNE' is a SMALL interchange Station with a minimum connection time of 35 mins and that St Pancras and Kings Cross have a 1 minute walk. I assume that means that I must allow 36 minutes from booked arrival time of 11:57, so the first train I could catch would be one at 12:33. Hopefully I'm understanding that correctly.

Steveoh said:

I neglected to ask if there is a minimum connection time. I've tried looking on BR Times and can see that 'LNE' is a SMALL interchange Station with a minimum connection time of 35 mins and that St Pancras and Kings Cross have a 1 minute walk. I assume that means that I must allow 36 minutes from booked arrival time of 11:57, so the first train I could catch would be one at 12:33. Hopefully I'm understanding that correctly.

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You also have to factor in the minimum connection time of 15 minutes at Kings Cross or St Pancras (Domestic), making a total of 51 minutes to be a valid connection.

Steveoh said:

We have the following railcards

1 Disabled Persons Railcard (adult)
1 Family and Friends Railcard - both named holders travelling but one also holds the disabled railcard.
1 16-25 Railcard (not named on Family and Friends).

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Don't overcomplicate things, the Family & Friends Railcard will cover your whole group (as long as you are travelling together).

I would encourage you to book assistance for your party if you feel that you would find it much easier not to stand for long periods of time. If I were doing this journey, I would expect to be on my feet for quite a while, as noted above by a few others.

Watershed said:

Since you'd be boarding at the origin (St Pancras), you would have a good chance of getting a seat in standard class as well, especially if you book Passenger Assist as I believe they're likely to let you onto the platform/train earlier.

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Starmill said:

I would encourage you to book assistance for your party if you feel that you would find it much easier not to stand for long periods of time. If I were doing this journey, I would expect to be on my feet for quite a while, as noted above by a few others.

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Thank you. I have used the Eurostar form to request this.

CyrusWuff said:

You also have to factor in the minimum connection time of 15 minutes at Kings Cross or St Pancras (Domestic), making a total of 51 minutes to be a valid connection.

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Thanks appreciated. There was a connection at exactly 50 minutes as well!

Haywain said:

Don't overcomplicate things, the Family & Friends Railcard will cover your whole group (as long as you are travelling together).

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Noted. We will be.

Have booked via Grantham. I don't trust EMR London -> Nottingham services at the moment.

Steveoh said:

Thank you. I have used the Eurostar form to request this.

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Unless I'm mistaken, I think that this will only provide you with assistance on/off your Eurostar service. You'll need to separately request assistance via Passenger Assist for the journey from London to Nottingham.

Book passenger assistance from EMR from point of arrival at St Pancras onwards to Nottingham.
I find it hard to believe they would put you on the train without finding you a seat.

I would expect EMR, but cannot gaurantee it, to honour a ticket for a specific train if Eurostar were late, on a later departure from St P without needing a CIV ticket. But leave a decent transfer time at St P. This might permit you to buy cheaper Advance or Advance First fares on EMR. But of course compare prices to see if it’s a saving worth making over the rights conferred by the CIV ticket alternative.

Buying tickets using the Disabled Railcard does help give an additional pointer to staff to help you in event of things going wrong.

LNER is an alternative with reservations from King’s Cross. And their single ticket pricing affords a flexible walk up off peak fare London to Nottingham via Grantham as a single that is much cheaper (nearly half the price iirc) than the any permitted route ticket London to Nottingham that also permits travel on EMR if you are only going one way.
But also book passenger assistance with LNER if going that way.

WesternLancer said:

Book passenger assistance from EMR from point of arrival at St Pancras onwards to Nottingham.
I find it hard to believe they would put you on the train without finding you a seat.

I would expect EMR, but cannot gaurantee it, to honour a ticket for a specific train if Eurostar were late, on a later departure from St P without needing a CIV ticket. But leave a decent transfer time at St P. This might permit you to buy cheaper Advance or Advance First fares on EMR. But of course compare prices to see if it’s a saving worth making over the rights conferred by the CIV ticket alternative.

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All moot as the OP has "booked via Grantham" (post #8).

Haywain said:

All moot as the OP has "booked via Grantham" (post #8).

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Thanks. I’d overlooked that

Thanks again everyone. Much appreciated.