Cheapest way to get from Amsterdam - Cologne - Brussels?

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Mar 16, 2012, 6:41 am

#31

Aviatrix

Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: UK

Posts: 7,560

Quote:

Originally Posted by WC_EEND

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!)

but are now only valid to stations within Brussels. Could the same be the case for tickets from Germany?

Mar 16, 2012, 6:59 am

#32

WC_EEND

Join Date: May 2011

Location: Gent, Belgium

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Aviatrix

Are you sure this is still the case?

Eurostar tickets from London used to be "Toute Gare Belge" (sorry, they use French here!)

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.

Mar 16, 2012, 4:54 pm

#33

lsquare

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Quote:

Originally Posted by WC_EEND

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/

Mar 16, 2012, 5:00 pm

#34

stut

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

Mar 16, 2012, 5:17 pm

#35

SmilingBoy

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: BRU

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Quote:

Originally Posted by stut

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.

Mar 16, 2012, 5:27 pm

#36

stut

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Quote:

Originally Posted by SmilingBoy

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.

Mar 17, 2012, 1:58 am

#37

lsquare

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Quote:

Originally Posted by stut

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!

Mar 17, 2012, 5:46 am

#38

WC_EEND

Join Date: May 2011

Location: Gent, Belgium

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Posts: 448

Quote:

Originally Posted by stut

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.

Mar 23, 2012, 6:22 am

#39

lsquare

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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?