Is 20 minutes enough transfer time in Brussels?

[battersea]

Hi all. I booked a Eurostar ticket to Brussels on a Saturday in July. The train is scheduled to arrive in Brussels as 10:05. I need to connect to Cologne and the next train departs at 10:20.

Is this enough time? Or should I take the 14:25 train from Brussels to Cologne?

Thanks for your help!

 

[317666]

Yes, it's easily enough time Quite a common question on these forums actually, for a few tips etc I would suggest taking a look at "Changing trains in Brussels" on this page: http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm#Changing-trains

 

[Greenback]

It's enough time provided the Eurostar is punctual. It's a connection that is sold and protected on a through ticket, so if something goes wrong you will be able to catch the next servicewithout penalty (apart from the time lost).

Use the connections exit on the Eurostar platform and you will be thorugh to the next platform in five minutes if you are not encumbered with heavy luggage and are an average walker.

 

[battersea]

Thanks, everyone.

I used the Seat61 site and I'm buying the journey in two segments.

I already bought the London - Brussels - London part and now I'm buying the DB ICE part.

I'm going to go ahead and get the 10:25 train and if things go wrong I'll talk to SNCB staff and hopefully they can help sort things out, even if the tickets were bought separately.

 

[Gordon]

We had this very same question earlier this month:

see discussion:

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=98675





.

 

[button_boxer]

I already bought the London - Brussels - London part and now I'm buying the DB ICE part.

It's a bit late for this occasion, but if you make this journey again you should look for the through "London Spezial" tickets from DB that cover the Eurostar to Brussels and the connection from Brussels to anywhere in Germany on one ticket. If you can get one these tickets are exceptionally good value, sometimes cheaper than the Eurostar ticket would be on its own.

The technicality is that these tickets are only available if you use ICE rather than Thalys between Brussels and the German border, but the DB booking engine will default to looking for the quickest rather than the cheapest connections (these are often Thalys). I tend to look up the times for the Eurostar, ICE, and any connecting trains within Germany separately, then start again with an advanced search and use a careful choice of via points and stopover times to get the trains I want on one itinerary so it offers the London Spezial fare.

 

[SephenWorceste]

Twenty minutes is enough provided you are off the Eurostar quickly and use the connections route by coach 11. Would not be so good if you could not walk quickly with your luggage. My Girlfriend would struggle.

Have a later train in mind for if your Eurostar is delayed. I printed out a later itinerary and made sure my tickets were covered against late trains through CIV regulations and Railteam Alliance protection. You want to make sure you can still reach your ultimate destination before the end of the day.

All worked fine for me.

Best wishes, Stephen.