Eurostar drop through bookings to Köln

[blackfive460]

It seems the bargain prices that used to be available for through bookings to Köln are no more. It's now necessary to book E* and Thalys separately.
I wonder why this has changed?
Perhaps not a major problem and probably not all that more expensive but with the different booking horizons, if you wait to make sure you can get the Thalys fare, the E* fares have been on sale for a month.

 

[MCR247]

Probably because Thalys isn't happy that E* will be competing soon?

 

[transmanche]

Probably because Thalys isn't happy that E* will be competing soon?

Being that SNCF own 55% of Eurostar and 62% of Thalys, maybe it's time for them to consider a merger between the two companies - especially as their services are complementary.

 

[317666]

Alternatively, if you were to get an ICE from Brussels to Köln rather than a Thalys, you can get a through fare starting from €59 if you book on DB's website, http://www.bahn.de
(This has recently gone up as the lowest fare used to be €49, but still it's good value because they're not just for Köln, but you can get them to any station in Germany!)

 

[30907]

You can book to Koeln on the Thalys website - still at EUR 49.- as well as the DB one (obviously with a different selection of train). First at EUR 99- would be good value if you get a Thalys that serves lunch or dinner too...

 

[brianthegiant]

Being that SNCF own 55% of Eurostar and 62% of Thalys, maybe it's time for them to consider a merger between the two companies - especially as their services are complementary.

Interesting idea, I think it would make a lot of sense to merge Thalys & Eurostar, would be a stronger brand internationally which would assist with ticket sales from outside Europe. Furthermore, Thalys & E* both have operations at Paris Nord, Brussels & shortly Koln/Amsterdam, so there are probably some operational economies. Thalys ticketless on E* would be handy.

Thalys owned by: SNCF 62%, NMBS/SNCB 28% and DB 10%.
Eurostar Intl Ltd owned by LCR 40%, SNCF 55% and NMBS/SNCB 5%.
LCR is 100% owned by UK Govt, but will likely be sold at some point.

I think the DB 10% stake in Thalys would be the sticking point, since a DB stake in merged E*/Thalys might be seen as weakening competition, since DB & E* will shortly compete on London-Koln corridor.

 

[fgwrich]

Interesting, thanks for the info. I was recently trying to look into a similar trip and couldn't find much, so this thread has been a help.

Does anyone know if you can take bikes on the Eurostar / Thaylis / ICE services?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

You can, but it costs £30.

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/at_the_station/bicycles.jsp

On our London, Paris and Brussels routes, you can reserve a place for your bike on the train you're travelling on, if there's enough space. It costs just £30 one way and you'll need to quote your Eurostar reference or show your ticket. This charge is non-refundable but you can change your reservation if there isn't enough luggage space available.

 

[fgwrich]

Thanks for that, something to look into for next year then. Without taking this thread too much more off topic - is there a rover type ticket available on DB services across Germany? Looking likely i'll be heading over to Bavaria sometime next year, but i'm aiming to visit 'The Homeland' of Wolfsburg aswell, with a few stops to a few of the cities.

 

[MCR247]

Interrail?

 

[Max]

Only valid weekends and on R, RE and IRE services, but the "Schönes Wochenende" ticket is exceptional value (or the "Quer-durchs-Land" ticket on weekdays).

 

[317666]

Alternatively, if you're just staying in one region you can get a Länder-Ticket for that region which is also quite good value. Valid on S-Bahn, RB, RE and IRE DB services, as well as on most private operators in the region too (see the terms and conditions for more info regarding private operators).

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/r...nal_007=L01_S01_D001_KIN0014_top-navi-lt_LZ01

 

[Oscar]

You can, but it costs £30.

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/at_the_station/bicycles.jsp

You can take a bicycle on Thalys (with the front wheel removed) but not on the ICE. It costs 5€ to take a bicycle on the regional service Brussels - Liège (change) - Aachen.

 

[brianthegiant]

You can take a bicycle on Thalys (with the front wheel removed) but not on the ICE. It costs 5€ to take a bicycle on the regional service Brussels - Liège (change) - Aachen.

You can take a bicycle on the ICE, but it must disassembled and put in a bike bag, same as for TGV. bike bags available from www.sjscycles.com .

You can, but it costs £30.
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/at_the_station/bicycles.jsp

You can also take a bike in a bag on Eurostar and avoid the £30 freight charge - the top luggage racks on E* & TGV fold up to allow tall items of luggage. Makes sense to do this on E* if you have onward travel on ICE / TGV.

To get a touring bike into a bag takes >30 minutes, you generally need to remove both wheels, saddle, rear mudguard, loosen handlebars, remove derailleur, then protect it all with something like pipe lagging, before bagging it. You also do this for buses in Spain & other places. On the hoof cardboard or bin liners & plentiful parcel tape can also be used instead of the canvas bike bags. Brakes & gears need testing on reassembly .

Changing trains with bikes in bags is also easier if the stations have luggage trolleys...unlike the Paris stations...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Thanks for that, something to look into for next year then. Without taking this thread too much more off topic - is there a rover type ticket available on DB services across Germany? Looking likely i'll be heading over to Bavaria sometime next year, but i'm aiming to visit 'The Homeland' of Wolfsburg aswell, with a few stops to a few of the cities.

If you're travelling around a lot then a bahncard 25 or bahncard 50 might pay off.
But if you buy a Bahncard for 1 year note that you must tell them to cancel your subscription or they'll automatically invoice you for a second year.

 

[RAGNARØKR]

Horrible train the Thalys. I would rather use the local train. In fact, it was one of the reasons that I stopped using the train to travel between the UK and Scandinavia.

 

[317666]

Horrible train the Thalys. I would rather use the local train. In fact, it was one of the reasons that I stopped using the train to travel between the UK and Scandinavia.

I used the Thalys way back in 2005 between Brussels and Köln, and I don't remember it being particularly comfortable either!

 

[brianthegiant]

Is Thalys that bad? it's just a TGV with a different paint job? ok not as comfy as an ICE but better than most UK stock.

 

[RAGNARØKR]

Is Thalys that bad? it's just a TGV with a different paint job? ok not as comfy as an ICE but better than most UK stock.

The last time I went on it, all the luggage had to be unloaded on to the platform at Aachen so that people could get off and on, and then the luggage was loaded back on again. The seat pitch is tight and many of the window seats are not. The interior seems to be very different from the TGV.