Thalys and Rail Passes: Rail Pass Use Not Recommended
Aug 15, 2011, 12:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, US
Posts: 2,229
Thalys and Rail Passes: Rail Pass Use Not Recommended
Thalys (Paris-Brussels/Amsterdam and Brussels-Cologne) charges extremely high "passholder" charges in order for the holder of one of the Eurail or other rail passes to use their services. In some cases, the surcharges will be more than simply buying the cheapest advance purchase ticket available, which can easily be done on line.
To illustrate, for my upcoming trip involving a start in Brussels, and travel in Germany, Austria, and Italy, I was planning on a Eurail Select Pass for 4 countries in 1st class. But, the add-on charges for the Brussels-Cologne Thalys segment are around E 40. Meanwhile, I was able to purchase the cheapest 2nd class ticket on line for this segment for only E 19 (1st class is E 29). And, by eliminating Belgium (Benelux) as a country from my pass, I only need a 3-country pass, which is cheaper. Now, between Brussels-Cologne it is also possible to avoid Thalys entirely by riding one of the 3 daily German Rail ICEs, which don't have a surcharge, but in my case, the Thalys schedule was more convenient. (In that case, I would have still have incurred the higher expense of a 4-country pass, so my option is still the best.) The cheapest tickets, of course, are limited in supply and come with advance purchase requirements.
In some cases, Thalys has a near monopoly, such as Paris-Brussels, as the local rail service that remains generally requires multiple changes of trains and takes many hours longer.
General tip: Passholder surcharges sound like a price break, but esp. with Thalys are very high, and there are better alternatives. It's a bit counterintuitive, as the "purpose" of a rail pass is to make travel easier, whereas the Thalys problem makes it more difficult. And, while the rail pass in the past tended to allow you to more or less plan as you go, obviously the advance purchase restrictions applicable to deeply discounted tickets limit you to specific travel dates as well as specific trains, with less flexibility.
To illustrate, for my upcoming trip involving a start in Brussels, and travel in Germany, Austria, and Italy, I was planning on a Eurail Select Pass for 4 countries in 1st class. But, the add-on charges for the Brussels-Cologne Thalys segment are around E 40. Meanwhile, I was able to purchase the cheapest 2nd class ticket on line for this segment for only E 19 (1st class is E 29). And, by eliminating Belgium (Benelux) as a country from my pass, I only need a 3-country pass, which is cheaper. Now, between Brussels-Cologne it is also possible to avoid Thalys entirely by riding one of the 3 daily German Rail ICEs, which don't have a surcharge, but in my case, the Thalys schedule was more convenient. (In that case, I would have still have incurred the higher expense of a 4-country pass, so my option is still the best.) The cheapest tickets, of course, are limited in supply and come with advance purchase requirements.
In some cases, Thalys has a near monopoly, such as Paris-Brussels, as the local rail service that remains generally requires multiple changes of trains and takes many hours longer.
General tip: Passholder surcharges sound like a price break, but esp. with Thalys are very high, and there are better alternatives. It's a bit counterintuitive, as the "purpose" of a rail pass is to make travel easier, whereas the Thalys problem makes it more difficult. And, while the rail pass in the past tended to allow you to more or less plan as you go, obviously the advance purchase restrictions applicable to deeply discounted tickets limit you to specific travel dates as well as specific trains, with less flexibility.
Last edited by Reindeerflame; Aug 15, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Aug 16, 2011, 7:44 pm
#2
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Join Date: Jul 2003
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Posts: 10,291
Thalys (Paris-Brussels/Amsterdam and Brussels-Cologne) charges extremely high "passholder" charges in order for the holder of one of the Eurail or other rail passes to use their services. In some cases, the surcharges will be more than simply buying the cheapest advance purchase ticket available, which can easily be done on line.
To illustrate, for my upcoming trip involving a start in Brussels, and travel in Germany, Austria, and Italy, I was planning on a Eurail Select Pass for 4 countries in 1st class. But, the add-on charges for the Brussels-Cologne Thalys segment are around E 40. Meanwhile, I was able to purchase the cheapest 2nd class ticket on line for this segment for only E 19 (1st class is E 29). And, by eliminating Belgium (Benelux) as a country from my pass, I only need a 3-country pass, which is cheaper. Now, between Brussels-Cologne it is also possible to avoid Thalys entirely by riding one of the 3 daily German Rail ICEs, which don't have a surcharge, but in my case, the Thalys schedule was more convenient. (In that case, I would have still have incurred the higher expense of a 4-country pass, so my option is still the best.) The cheapest tickets, of course, are limited in supply and come with advance purchase requirements.
In some cases, Thalys has a near monopoly, such as Paris-Brussels, as the local rail service that remains generally requires multiple changes of trains and takes many hours longer.
General tip: Passholder surcharges sound like a price break, but esp. with Thalys are very high, and there are better alternatives. It's a bit counterintuitive, as the "purpose" of a rail pass is to make travel easier, whereas the Thalys problem makes it more difficult. And, while the rail pass in the past tended to allow you to more or less plan as you go, obviously the advance purchase restrictions applicable to deeply discounted tickets limit you to specific travel dates as well as specific trains, with less flexibility.
To illustrate, for my upcoming trip involving a start in Brussels, and travel in Germany, Austria, and Italy, I was planning on a Eurail Select Pass for 4 countries in 1st class. But, the add-on charges for the Brussels-Cologne Thalys segment are around E 40. Meanwhile, I was able to purchase the cheapest 2nd class ticket on line for this segment for only E 19 (1st class is E 29). And, by eliminating Belgium (Benelux) as a country from my pass, I only need a 3-country pass, which is cheaper. Now, between Brussels-Cologne it is also possible to avoid Thalys entirely by riding one of the 3 daily German Rail ICEs, which don't have a surcharge, but in my case, the Thalys schedule was more convenient. (In that case, I would have still have incurred the higher expense of a 4-country pass, so my option is still the best.) The cheapest tickets, of course, are limited in supply and come with advance purchase requirements.
In some cases, Thalys has a near monopoly, such as Paris-Brussels, as the local rail service that remains generally requires multiple changes of trains and takes many hours longer.
General tip: Passholder surcharges sound like a price break, but esp. with Thalys are very high, and there are better alternatives. It's a bit counterintuitive, as the "purpose" of a rail pass is to make travel easier, whereas the Thalys problem makes it more difficult. And, while the rail pass in the past tended to allow you to more or less plan as you go, obviously the advance purchase restrictions applicable to deeply discounted tickets limit you to specific travel dates as well as specific trains, with less flexibility.
[PS: Back in the 60's and 70's there was an overnight train from Paris to Brussels, which took nearly 6 hours--they put the train on a siding for about 2 and 1/2 hours.
Last edited by nrr; Aug 16, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Aug 17, 2011, 1:52 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 28
Same reasoning applies to Eurostar, though UK is not included in most rail passes, many people still shop for the "special fare" from Eurostar to passholders.
From this summer onward, Belgium-Netherlands connections will also become far less convenient without Thalys: new high-speed Fyra service will begin operating on the Amsterdam-Schiphol-Breda-Antwerpen-Bruxelles route, with supplements and reserved seats only. The bi-hourly or so Intercity trains will be cut off, to travel between Bruxelles Midi and Amsterdam Centraal one will have to change trains at least 4 times and take at least 4h20 (1h25 on new Fyra services)
From this summer onward, Belgium-Netherlands connections will also become far less convenient without Thalys: new high-speed Fyra service will begin operating on the Amsterdam-Schiphol-Breda-Antwerpen-Bruxelles route, with supplements and reserved seats only. The bi-hourly or so Intercity trains will be cut off, to travel between Bruxelles Midi and Amsterdam Centraal one will have to change trains at least 4 times and take at least 4h20 (1h25 on new Fyra services)