Rotterdam Loophole

[Class999999]

So similar to the Lille Loophole, it is possible to buy a eurostar ticket from amsterdam to rotterdam, this would raise questions about border controls but also, the journey costs around £20. Whats to stop someone staying onboard all the way to London to save money? IIRC eurostar dont really check tickets onboard only when boarding, you could sit in the unreserved seat in the vestibule area?

 

[Gaelan]

Are you sure you're seeing a ticket for a Eurostar to London, and not a Eurostar (formerly known as Thalys) within Schengen?

 

[Class999999]

Are you sure you're seeing a ticket for a Eurostar to London, and not a Eurostar (formerly known as Thalys) within Schengen?

Ah yes you are correct, forgot about the merge, it doesnt specify the toc on the website, makes sense now.

 

[DanielB]

You could recognize it by the train number: 91xx is Eurostar to London, 93xx and 99xx is Eurostar to Paris / Marne-la-Vallee.
The toc for both is the same now obviously... Requires a bit of getting used to, I was initially confused as well when I heard an announcement for a Eurostar at Schiphol Airport station yesterday (which was one to Paris of course).

 

[cool110]

You could recognize it by the train number: 91xx is Eurostar to London, 93xx and 99xx is Eurostar to Paris / Marne-la-Vallee.

The easy way to remember that is that cross-channel services must be x1xx or x0xx as those numbers can change to the letters I and O to form a UK headcode.

 

[Townsend Hook]

So similar to the Lille Loophole, it is possible to buy a eurostar ticket from amsterdam to rotterdam, this would raise questions about border controls but also, the journey costs around £20. Whats to stop someone staying onboard all the way to London to save money? IIRC eurostar dont really check tickets onboard only when boarding, you could sit in the unreserved seat in the vestibule area?

A quick check of the Eurostar website suggests that it’s not possible, it doesn’t present the London-bound departures as options for an Amsterdam-Rotterdam booking.