European Rail Travel - Cheapest way to get from Amsterdam - Cologne - Brussels?

I've looked at both Bahn.de and Thalys.com and I don't see any cheap fares. Using Bahn.de, I think I see a fare as low as 34 EUR for April 6, 2012. I tried using Thalys' website and even though Cologne is listed in their route map, I can't seem to select an Amsterdam - Cologne route.

Any suggestions and or comments guys?

6 April is a Good Friday, which is probably a peak travel day on the railways. At just 4 weeks out, I think you are too late for cheap tickets.

There is no Thalys train between Amsterdam and Cologne, only between Amsterdam and Bruxelles, and Cologne and Bruxelles. If you don't absolutely need to take the detour via Cologne, you could book Amsterdam-Bruxelles direct, or change the itinerary to go from Amsterdam to Bruxelles and then to Cologne.

I believe that there are no direct trains between Amsterdam and Cologne except for the ICEs Amsterdam-Frankfurt vv, but if you don't mind changing trains, you might as well go to Nijmegen, Venlo (change there to trains to Düsseldorf resp. Mönchengladbach and from there to Cologne) or Heerlen (change there to a train to Aachen/Düren and from there to Cologne). You might end up paying around 50-60 EUR for a fully flexible (oneway) fare on those routes, but be advised that they require you use regional trains to cross the border.

There is no Thalys train between Amsterdam and Cologne, only between Amsterdam and Bruxelles, and Cologne and Bruxelles. If you don't absolutely need to take the detour via Cologne, you could book Amsterdam-Bruxelles direct, or change the itinerary to go from Amsterdam to Bruxelles and then to Cologne.

I believe that there are no direct trains between Amsterdam and Cologne except for the ICEs Amsterdam-Frankfurt vv, but if you don't mind changing trains, you might as well go to Nijmegen, Venlo (change there to trains to Düsseldorf resp. Mönchengladbach and from there to Cologne) or Heerlen (change there to a train to Aachen/Düren and from there to Cologne). You might end up paying around 50-60 EUR for a fully flexible (oneway) fare on those routes, but be advised that they require you use regional trains to cross the border.

I don't want to take the first option because that involves backtracking.

Is there no cheaper way to go from Amsterdam to Cologne without changing multiple trains and paying up to 60 EUR? I don't need a fully flexible fare. I can book in advance for it.

I just checked, there is the non-stop ICE from Amsterdam to Cologne from Deutsche Bahn, which is available for 34 or 39 Euros on 6 April. Leaves at 07:04, 08:04, 10:34, 12:34, 14:34, 16:34 or 18:34. The one at 18:34 is 29 Euros, the one at 16:34 is 49 Euros in 1st class.

This is all available on bahn.de - so not sure where you have been checking.

What I don't understand is the "Brussels" in the thread title - do you need to go to Brussels? and when? Or did you just think you had to go via Brussels if you need to go from Amsterdam to Cologne? This is not the case.

I've looked at both Bahn.de and Thalys.com and I don't see any cheap fares. Using Bahn.de, I think I see a fare as low as 34 EUR for April 6, 2012. I tried using Thalys' website and even though Cologne is listed in their route map, I can't seem to select an Amsterdam - Cologne route.

Any suggestions and or comments guys?
I understand you're asking for fares from Amsterdam, via Cologne, to Brussels. I assume there is a specific reason you wish to travel via Cologne (otherwise it would be certainly be quicker and easier, and probably cheaper, to take the direct Thalys from Amsterdam to Brussels).

As bruce80 mentioned above, there is no Thalys service between Amsterdam and Cologne, so Thalys will not sell you a ticket for your desired route. As far as I know, bahn.de will not sell you this route as one ticket, but you should be able to buy it as two separate tickets:
- As SmilingBoy said, there are regular ICEs between Amsterdam and Cologne, which are available for around €39 on 6th April;
- There are regular Thalys or ICE services between Cologne and Brussels. It seems that ICE services are available for €39 on 6th April; some of the Thalys might be a bit cheaper.

So, you're looking at around €78 for Amsterdam-Cologne-Brussels. You might be able to get this a bit cheaper, if you can be flexible in times of travel.

A DB BahnCard25 (http://www.bahn.de/i/view/DEU/en/prices/germany/bahncard.shtml) would get you a 25% discount on these ICE fares, and most other fares in Germany (but not, I think, on the Thalys fares). I think you can get a Probe-BahnCard25 for €25 for 4 months (?) so if you're doing any other train travel in Germany in a 4 month period, this would probably save you money.

I just checked, there is the non-stop ICE from Amsterdam to Cologne from Deutsche Bahn, which is available for 34 or 39 Euros on 6 April. Leaves at 07:04, 08:04, 10:34, 12:34, 14:34, 16:34 or 18:34. The one at 18:34 is 29 Euros, the one at 16:34 is 49 Euros in 1st class.

This is all available on bahn.de - so not sure where you have been checking.

What I don't understand is the "Brussels" in the thread title - do you need to go to Brussels? and when? Or did you just think you had to go via Brussels if you need to go from Amsterdam to Cologne? This is not the case.

Yes, I do need to go to Brussels because I'll need to catch a flight to Milan. My plans have changed. Originally I was going to work my way from Amsterdam to Brussels with stops in between for Antwerp and other cities before stopping in Cologne to catch a flight to Italy. Now I want to go from another direction.

That's kind of strange because I honestly didn't see that price. What's the lowest price for that route if one does book early enough? Is 29 EUR a decent price (I know I'll have to pay for it if that's what's available)? I might book as late as tomorrow because I don't want to lose the price. Will Bahn.de accept US credit cards? Is there anything that I need to know to book German train fares? This is my first time doing it so I'm very unfamiliar with it. I just don't want to make a mistake with a non-refundable ticket.

Thank you!

I understand you're asking for fares from Amsterdam, via Cologne, to Brussels. I assume there is a specific reason you wish to travel via Cologne (otherwise it would be certainly be quicker and easier, and probably cheaper, to take the direct Thalys from Amsterdam to Brussels).

As bruce80 mentioned above, there is no Thalys service between Amsterdam and Cologne, so Thalys will not sell you a ticket for your desired route. As far as I know, bahn.de will not sell you this route as one ticket, but you should be able to buy it as two separate tickets:
- As SmilingBoy said, there are regular ICEs between Amsterdam and Cologne, which are available for around €39 on 6th April;
- There are regular Thalys or ICE services between Cologne and Brussels. It seems that ICE services are available for €39 on 6th April; some of the Thalys might be a bit cheaper.

So, you're looking at around €78 for Amsterdam-Cologne-Brussels. You might be able to get this a bit cheaper, if you can be flexible in times of travel.

A DB BahnCard25 (http://www.bahn.de/i/view/DEU/en/prices/germany/bahncard.shtml) would get you a 25% discount on these ICE fares, and most other fares in Germany (but not, I think, on the Thalys fares). I think you can get a Probe-BahnCard25 for €25 for 4 months (?) so if you're doing any other train travel in Germany in a 4 month period, this would probably save you money.

I want to drop by Cologne and Bonn because of its history and architectures. Like I mentioned earlier, I was planning to go from Amsterdam to Brussels to Cologne, but plans kind of changed so now I want to go from Amsterdam to Cologne to Brussels. I am flexible in time of travel within the day, but not with the dates.

I believe E29 is the cheapast it ever gets on the Amsterdam-Cologne route (non-stop ICE), the minimal price E29. If the price gets higher it means that fare has been sold out. The cheapast available fare for Cologne-Brussels (non-stop Thalys) is E25.

Right I'm not seeing any E29 fares for April 6th anymore (E34) to get to Cologne, but I still see some E25 for trains from Cologne to Brussels.

Conclusion: E34 is the minimum price you'll have to pay to get to Cologne, it's not gonna get any cheaper. Same goes for the Thalys to Brussels. My suggestion would be to book asap, as the price does tend to go up. Book the ICE on the Bahn.de site, and the Thalys on Thalys.com

I believe E29 is the cheapast it ever gets on the Amsterdam-Cologne route (non-stop ICE), the minimal price E29. If the price gets higher it means that fare has been sold out. The cheapast available fare for Cologne-Brussels (non-stop Thalys) is E25.

Right I'm not seeing any E29 fares for April 6th anymore (E34) to get to Cologne, but I still see some E25 for trains from Cologne to Brussels.

Conclusion: E34 is the minimum price you'll have to pay to get to Cologne, it's not gonna get any cheaper. Same goes for the Thalys to Brussels. My suggestion would be to book asap, as the price does tend to go up. Book the ICE on the Bahn.de site, and the Thalys on Thalys.com

Thanks for the information. 34 Euros is fine and it's my fault for not booking earlier.

One other questions. Once I get to Cologne and I want to go to Brugges, will I need to book two fares to go from Cologne to Brussels and then Brussels to Bruges or I can book one fare going from Cologne to Bruges? What's the cheapest way to do this? Will I be using Thalys or Belgium's train system? Sorry, this is all very confusing to me.

Man, I thought Bahn.de's website was bad. Thalys takes it to the next level. These European agenices need to work on their web design. It's just awful.

Man, I thought Bahn.de's website was bad. Thalys takes it to the next level. These European agenices need to work on their web design. It's just awful.

What's bad about bahn.de? I've never had any problems with it, and most people here seem to highly recommend it. And it would seem that several people have gone to a lot of trouble to look up information for you on that very web site.

Can't comment on the Thalys web site as I haven't used it.

And don't you think you're over-generalising rather a bit about European web sites?

What's bad about bahn.de? I've never had any problems with it, and most people here seem to highly recommend it. And it would seem that several people have gone to a lot of trouble to look up information for you on that very web site.

Can't comment on the Thalys web site as I haven't used it.

And don't you think you're over-generalising rather a bit about European web sites?

What are you trying to imply there? I'm pretty grateful for all the help that people on FT have provided me with. I don't understand how that relates to what I think are bad website designs.

Actually, I really love the UK's centralized train fare booking system. It's much easier to use than Bahn.de's website.

One other questions. Once I get to Cologne and I want to go to Brugges, will I need to book two fares to go from Cologne to Brussels and then Brussels to Bruges or I can book one fare going from Cologne to Bruges? What's the cheapest way to do this? Will I be using Thalys or Belgium's train system? Sorry, this is all very confusing to me.


Travel from Brussels to Bruges will be on an IC train, operated by SNCB (the Belgian national rail company). It seems that bahn.de will sell you a combined ticket Cologne-Brussels-Bruges, if the Cologne-Brussels stretch is on an ICE, but not if it's on a Thalys. The price (€39) is the same as just for Cologne-Brussels. (I haven't checked either the Thalys or the SNCB websites).

If you want to spend some time in Brussels (up to 48hrs, I think) you can book this using the 'via' option under 'Advanced Search Options' on bahn.de.


Man, I thought Bahn.de's website was bad. Thalys takes it to the next level. These European agenices need to work on their web design. It's just awful.

I actually quite like bahn.de, and find it works quite well for most purposes. I've never used the Thalys website. And AFAIK, www.nationalrail.co.uk shows train times and prices, but doesn't actually sell tickets (instead, it just directs you to various operators' websites).

Travel from Brussels to Bruges will be on an IC train, operated by SNCB (the Belgian national rail company). It seems that bahn.de will sell you a combined ticket Cologne-Brussels-Bruges, if the Cologne-Brussels stretch is on an ICE, but not if it's on a Thalys. The price (€39) is the same as just for Cologne-Brussels. (I haven't checked either the Thalys or the SNCB websites).

If you want to spend some time in Brussels (up to 48hrs, I think) you can book this using the 'via' option under 'Advanced Search Options' on bahn.de.

Thanks a lot man! I think Thalys shows that the cheapest fare for Cologne to Brussels is 25 EUR. Even then, it doesn't seem like the Cologne to Brugges fare is that bad.



I actually quite like bahn.de, and find it works quite well for most purposes. I've never used the Thalys website. And AFAIK, www.nationalrail.co.uk shows train times and prices, but doesn't actually sell tickets (instead, it just directs you to various operators' websites).

That's true, but it was way easier to use and I didn't get lost that easily. I don't want to go off-topic and I do apologize if some people are offended by that comment.

Seriously, what is difficult on bahn.de?

Go here: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Insert your origin, destination and the date and time you want to travel, click "search"

It then requests you to select, which Amsterdam station want to depart from as there are several, but it defaults to the central station. Click search again.

And there are your results. Telling you the "savings fare" of 34 Euro for the first two trains. If you want to depart later, click on "later" and you'll get more options.

Only difficulty I see for someone from the US is that the date is shown the European (proper :D) way (DD.MM.YY). But you should get used to that anyway before going to Europe.

I would book Bruxelles-Brugge at the counter in Bruxelles, especially if you want to take the Thalys. Mixed fares with Thalys segments are always a problem (or at least, they have been in the past) and I believe that you'll end up cheaper that way (as trains in Belgium are really much cheaper than in Germany, you could even get a cross-country ride for any (non-highspeed) train in first class for as little as about 11 EUR, but only if you buy a "RailPass" for 10 journeys which is then valid for one year).

But there's an exception which I will explain to you (sorry if this gets a bit complicated): The DB restricted fare offers "Sparpreis Europa" are flat fares which are not calculated for the actual distance you travel but only depend on the trains you take. So, if, let's say, a EUR29 fare is available on a train between Cologne and Bruxelles, and if it's also available for the Train between Bruxelles and Brugge, then you can buy a ticket from Cologne to Brugge for the same price, EUR 29. You could even buy the ticket to Oostende, or wherever you want to go in Belgium, all for the same price (which might really be an option for you, keeps you flexible). The same holds true for any other discounted european ticket, so if you wanted to go from Utrecht to Cologne, you will pay the same price as from Amsterdam to Cologne. But be aware that this is only true for discounted tickets that display the fare "Sparpreis Europa", not for any other fares.

So, you might buy your ticket from Cologne to Brugge, stop over in Bruxelles, and if you miss your train to Brugge (maybe you want to stay longer in Bruxelles), just buy an additional ticket in Bruxelles (which won't be that expensive). I hope that hasn't been too complicated.

@Bruce80: He'd be better off buying a railpass for second class. First class really isn't worth the price difference. The only difference between first and second is that first has 3-abreast seating (2+1) and 2nd has 4 abreast seating (2+2). Oh, and slightly more comfortable seats (the ones in 2nd class aren't bad) and slightly more legroom in first. Other than that, it's exactly the same.

Also OP, if you need more info about rail travel within Belgium, feel free to PM me.

I would book Bruxelles-Brugge at the counter in Bruxelles, especially if you want to take the Thalys. Mixed fares with Thalys segments are always a problem (or at least, they have been in the past) and I believe that you'll end up cheaper that way (as trains in Belgium are really much cheaper than in Germany, you could even get a cross-country ride for any (non-highspeed) train in first class for as little as about 11 EUR, but only if you buy a "RailPass" for 10 journeys which is then valid for one year).

But there's an exception which I will explain to you (sorry if this gets a bit complicated): The DB restricted fare offers "Sparpreis Europa" are flat fares which are not calculated for the actual distance you travel but only depend on the trains you take. So, if, let's say, a EUR29 fare is available on a train between Cologne and Bruxelles, and if it's also available for the Train between Bruxelles and Brugge, then you can buy a ticket from Cologne to Brugge for the same price, EUR 29. You could even buy the ticket to Oostende, or wherever you want to go in Belgium, all for the same price (which might really be an option for you, keeps you flexible). The same holds true for any other discounted european ticket, so if you wanted to go from Utrecht to Cologne, you will pay the same price as from Amsterdam to Cologne. But be aware that this is only true for discounted tickets that display the fare "Sparpreis Europa", not for any other fares.

So, you might buy your ticket from Cologne to Brugge, stop over in Bruxelles, and if you miss your train to Brugge (maybe you want to stay longer in Bruxelles), just buy an additional ticket in Bruxelles (which won't be that expensive). I hope that hasn't been too complicated.

I just used B-Europe's website to book a ticket from Cologne to Brugges. It came out to 29 EUR. The problem is that my ticket only says that I'll be going from Cologne to Brussels. I don't want to spend another 11 EUR when my ticket is suppose to take me there. The ticket is in French and I don't understand it.

Here are the details:

Date Departure Arrival from to Train Type of fare Price
06-04 07:43 11:02 Koeln Hbf Brussels-Midi --- Sparpreis - 2nd classe € 29.00
06-04 07:43 09:35 Koeln Hbf Brussels-Midi 18 Seat Sparpreis 2nd cl –
Total price for 1 adult is: € 29.00

It does say Sparpreis. I got this information from the confirmation page. The actual ticket that was e-mailed to my account just say ICE Sparpreis.

Does that mean I can take the following train to Brugges?

@Bruce80: He'd be better off buying a railpass for second class. First class really isn't worth the price difference. The only difference between first and second is that first has 3-abreast seating (2+1) and 2nd has 4 abreast seating (2+2). Oh, and slightly more comfortable seats (the ones in 2nd class aren't bad) and slightly more legroom in first. Other than that, it's exactly the same.

Also OP, if you need more info about rail travel within Belgium, feel free to PM me.

Let's discuss it in this thread in case other people have questions about it. :)

Let's say I want to spend the night in Brussels, but the day in Ghent, where can I possibly leave my luggage in Ghent? I'm thinking of taking the morning train to Ghent and then sometime in the evening head to Brussels. How much will the fares be? How should I structure the ticket to get the lowest fare?

Thanks!

www.b-rail.be has all the information.

There is manned and automated left luggage at Gent Sint Pieters station, costing from €3, depending on size.

Fares in Belgium are really cheap. You can do all sorts of schemes, but a basic day return from Brussels to Ghent is €17. Walk-up, no need to reserve.

There are luggage lockers in the station itself. As for the fares, how much train journeys are you planning to do within Belgium? If the answer is "a fair amount", you'd be better off getting a rail pass which is valid for 10 journeys between any 2 Belgian stations. If the answer on the other hand is "not a lot", you'd be better off just buying a return ticket in the ticket office (ticket machines in the stations only take Belgian debit cards). Also bear in mind that Belgian trains (except the high-speed international ones) do not have seat reservations, so even though you have a ticket, it does not guarantee a seat on the train. When buying the ticket, ask the chap behind the counter when the direct train to Ghent leaves (should take about 30min as opposed to the ones stopping in between, which can take between 1h and 1h30).

as for your post just above the previous one, "sparpreis" is German for "saver fare" and no, that ticket doesn't include the Brussels-Bruges segment unless it has "EBS" written on it somewhere ("EBS" stands for "Elk Belgisch Station", which means "Any Belgian Station")

Edit: if you need any info about Gent, it's been my home town for the past 18 years, so I know it like the back of my hand

There are luggage lockers in the station itself. As for the fares, how much train journeys are you planning to do within Belgium? If the answer is "a fair amount", you'd be better off getting a rail pass which is valid for 10 journeys between any 2 Belgian stations. If the answer on the other hand is "not a lot", you'd be better off just buying a return ticket in the ticket office (ticket machines in the stations only take Belgian debit cards). Also bear in mind that Belgian trains (except the high-speed international ones) do not have seat reservations, so even though you have a ticket, it does not guarantee a seat on the train. When buying the ticket, ask the chap behind the counter when the direct train to Ghent leaves (should take about 30min as opposed to the ones stopping in between, which can take between 1h and 1h30).

I'm only planning to make 3 trips in Belgium so it's not really worth it for me to get a pass.

How much is it to rent a locker? Is it big enough to fit a 24" suitcase?

as for your post just above the previous one, "sparpreis" is German for "saver fare" and no, that ticket doesn't include the Brussels-Bruges segment unless it has "EBS" written on it somewhere ("EBS" stands for "Elk Belgisch Station", which means "Any Belgian Station")

Edit: if you need any info about Gent, it's been my home town for the past 18 years, so I know it like the back of my hand

I don't see EBS mentioned anywhere. So after making the purchase, I got an email from B-Europe. The e-mail contained a zip file, which have a HTML file inside. Inside contains the following:

Your journey:
From KOELN HBF to BRUXELLES-MIDI on 06/04/2012 with ICE Train number 18 departure at 07:43 and arrival at 09:35

1 person with fare Seat Sparpreis 2nd cl
Coach 22, seat 092 ( Non smoking) []


Price EUR 0,00

Travelproof or other products:
From KOELN HBF to BRUXELLES-MIDI on 06/04/2012 1 person with fare Sparpreis - 2nd classe

1 Sparpreis - 2nd classe on 06/04/2012
Price EUR 29,00

Total price:
Total amount train tickets: 29,00 EUR

TOTAL AMOUNT: 29,00 EUR

Fare conditions:
Seat Sparpreis 2nd cl:
Passenger has to be in possession of a ticket for the concerning route.

Sparpreis - 2nd classe:
Must be purchased at least 3 days before departure.
Exchange allowed until 3 days before the scheduled departure with a fee of 20 EUR.
No refund possible
Your ticket is valid from/to any Belgian station. The ticket is valid 1 month, but must go along with a compulsory seat reservation for the train used (reservation is free on the direct Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt connection). ATTENTION: homeprint tickets are valid on the day mentioned on the ticket!

Notice at the bottom it says it's valid to any Belgian station? However, this isn't the ticket. After I click to download the ticket, I don't see it mentioned in English that I can go to any Belgian station. The weird part is that when I was booking the ticket, I did picked Cologne to Brugges. There is 1 transfer at Brussels. What can I do now?

www.b-rail.be has all the information.

There is manned and automated left luggage at Gent Sint Pieters station, costing from €3, depending on size.

Fares in Belgium are really cheap. You can do all sorts of schemes, but a basic day return from Brussels to Ghent is €17. Walk-up, no need to reserve.

There are no discounts for booking early?

How much is it to rent a locker? Is it big enough to fit a 24" suitcase?

i don't know actually, I've never used them. However I live within walking distance from the station, so I'll pass by later today


Notice at the bottom it says it's valid to any Belgian station? However, this isn't the ticket. After I click to download the ticket, I don't see it mentioned in English that I can go to any Belgian station. The weird part is that when I was booking the ticket, I did picked Cologne to Brugges. There is 1 transfer at Brussels. What can I do now?

If you booked Cologne to Bruges, then it should be valid to any Belgian station beyond Brussels.

And yes, there is no discount for booking in advance since the national trains don't have reserved seats.

edit: The luggage lockers should fit a 24" suitcase (I have a 24" PC monitor and used those dimensions for reference). Price-wise, I haven"t got a clue, because the person of staff responsible from them called in sick today.
http://hari.b-holding.be/infsta/InfoStation.aspx?StationId=1000455&lang=1&partner=Styles/int.css This is the station info site, it also mentions (all the way at the bottom) when the staffed lockers are accessible.

i don't know actually, I've never used them. However I live within walking distance from the station, so I'll pass by later today



If you booked Cologne to Bruges, then it should be valid to any Belgian station beyond Brussels.

And yes, there is no discount for booking in advance since the national trains don't have reserved seats.

edit: The luggage lockers should fit a 24" suitcase (I have a 24" PC monitor and used those dimensions for reference). Price-wise, I haven"t got a clue, because the person of staff responsible from them called in sick today.
http://hari.b-holding.be/infsta/InfoStation.aspx?StationId=1000455&lang=1&partner=Styles/int.css This is the station info site, it also mentions (all the way at the bottom) when the staffed lockers are accessible.

The thing is that no where in my ticket does it say Brugges. What can I do right now to settle the matter once and for all? I'm a little worried at the moment.

Can you scan the ticket, blanking out any personal details?

Can you scan the ticket, blanking out any personal details?

It's a PDF file so I'm not sure how I'll blank out my personal information.

They also used French in the ticket.

What else should I be looking for just to know for sure that I can go to Bruges with this fare?

Open it in your pdf-reading program (usually acrobat reader, but others will do fine as well), hit the "printscreen" key on your keyboard and paste into MS Paint. delete all the windows bits and put a thick black line over your personal details. Save image and upload to your favourite image host (imageschack, photobucket, imgur, etc) Embed image in post here using the img bb-code tags and you're done.
If necessary, I'll print it out, take it to my local station (Gent-sint-Pieters) and ask there. It's only a 10min walk from my home anyway.

Open it in your pdf-reading program (usually acrobat reader, but others will do fine as well), hit the "printscreen" key on your keyboardEven better, hit ALT+Print Screen so that only a screenshot of the active window is taken and copied.

Even better, hit ALT+Print Screen so that only a screenshot of the active window is taken and copied.

Thanks for that tip, I had no idea it existed ^

If you booked Cologne to Bruges, then it should be valid to any Belgian station beyond Brussels.

Are you sure this is still the case?

Eurostar tickets from London used to be "Toute Gare Belge" (sorry, they use French here!):p but are now only valid to stations within Brussels. Could the same be the case for tickets from Germany?

Are you sure this is still the case?

Eurostar tickets from London used to be "Toute Gare Belge" (sorry, they use French here!):p but are now only valid to stations within Brussels. Could the same be the case for tickets from Germany?

I recently booked a Thalys trip Brussels-Rotterdam return, which did not have the "Toutes gares Belges" or "Elk Belgisch Station" included, however if I tried to book Gent Sint Pieters-Rotterdam, it was included (or at least it said so in the booking menu). So my logical deduction is that if you use any other station as departure/arrival point than the ones listed as Thalys departure stations (Brussel-Zuid/Midi, Antwerp-Central, Liége-Guillemins (only for Cologne), Gent-Sint-Pieters (only for Paris), Bruges (only for Paris) and Ostend (only for Paris), the EBS/TGB is automatically included.

For the record, I booked it without because just using a Go Pass (I'm still under 26) worked out cheaper than with the EBS/TGB surcharge.

Open it in your pdf-reading program (usually acrobat reader, but others will do fine as well), hit the "printscreen" key on your keyboard and paste into MS Paint. delete all the windows bits and put a thick black line over your personal details. Save image and upload to your favourite image host (imageschack, photobucket, imgur, etc) Embed image in post here using the img bb-code tags and you're done.
If necessary, I'll print it out, take it to my local station (Gent-sint-Pieters) and ask there. It's only a 10min walk from my home anyway.

Thx for the information. I blacked out my information.

Here is the ticket: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/11/42779319.jpg/

Yup. Valable a toutes gares Belges = valid to all Belgian stations. Ghent, Mechelen, Liege-Guillemins, Ostend, even Erps-Kwerps, should the desire take you.

Yup. Valable a toutes gares Belges = valid to all Belgian stations. Ghent, Mechelen, Liege-Guillemins, Ostend, even Erps-Kwerps, should the desire take you.Erps-Kwerps is a place I always wanted to live. Just the best name. And probably good plane spotting.

Erps-Kwerps is a place I always wanted to live. Just the best name. And probably good plane spotting.

I do have a soft spot for daft town names.

As you can see from my profile.

Yup. Valable a toutes gares Belges = valid to all Belgian stations. Ghent, Mechelen, Liege-Guillemins, Ostend, even Erps-Kwerps, should the desire take you.

lol Stut!

Thanks for answering that question for me. I didn't realize you have a background in French!

I do have a soft spot for daft town names.


It's not just you, I have a soft spot for daft or weird town names as well.

I also have this mate who always laughs when he's on the train and passes Erps-Kwerps, just because he thinks it's such a funny town name.

I just want to confirm with you guys that there is no advantage to buying my Bruges to Ghent and Ghent to Brussels ticket online right? I can always buy it on the same day of travel and it'll still be the same price even if I book it 1 week in advance?

I just want to confirm with you guys that there is no advantage to buying my Bruges to Ghent and Ghent to Brussels ticket online right? I can always buy it on the same day of travel and it'll still be the same price even if I book it 1 week in advance?No price advantage, but I always find it nice to have the ticket in my pocket already and not having to find a ticketing machine or counter.