Train Travel Questions from Amsterdam

I see that you mention the IC and the Thays, these are express trains and usualy only stop at very major destinations along their way. But non-express trains might take longer to get there, and stop more often, but if you are on a budget thay are cheaper. And to make it easier to work it times and fares you will need to go to the raiway's web site that you are starting your journey from. And as a rule of thumb the railways only start selling tickets a couple of months in advane, but you can look now, as this will undoubtly give you some sort of a guide.

Thanks, what non-express trains are there to Paris? I thought the thalys was the only train possible to get to Paris?

I used to catch a non express train every day from Every into the Gare De Lyon in Paris. Surely there is a way of getting into Paris without taking an express train?

Best way to get from Brussels to Paris is indeed the Thalys (1 hour and 20 minutes), but do book ahead (3 months) to get good prices. I did so 2 summers ago and got tickets for 22€ each way.

I'm not sure, but believe Thalys is the only direct train now. Otherwise, you would be going through Lille or somewhere slower and with changes. Do a search here for the Brugge-Brussels connection, but from what I remember from other posts, it's just a frequent local train, so you don't need to buy in advance.

#3 If you mean Evry, that is a commuter train.

You mean you can't catch a train that stops any where between Brussels and Paris #4?

High-speed trains compete with airplanes not only with speed. They also don't stop in a lot of places, unlike regional trains. I don't remember whether the Thalys stopped anywhere between Paris and Brussels, but offhand, I would say it didn't.

I just did a simulation for Paris to Brussels through Lille -- you don't get the Thalys, you get a TGV. It's also a fast train, but not the same one.

Is what you are saying, there is there not a regional train or non express train that stops between Brussles and Paris.?............................ So in short you say the only way between the two cities by train , is only by express train?

#7 that's correct, Thalys is the only direct option between Brussels and Paris. It is possible to travel between the two cities by local/regional/intercity trains, but that would involve at least 3 changes and take over 5 hours. It can be done in even more time, if you stick to only local and regional trains - nice if you're a railfan and/or a masochist.

Amsterdam-Bruges would take over 6,5 hours with 4 changes enroute. A quick comparison on the Dutch and Belgian railway websites shows that this 3 hours extra travel time saves you a whopping €5 or so.

Source: [www.bahn.de] - untick ICE/IC/EC in the advanced search menu.

On a sidenote, train tickets in the Netherlands and Belgium - apart from the highspeed Thalys and Fyra trains - cost the same regardless of whether you buy them in advance or on the day of departure, and regardless of the type of service (local, intercity etc.).

I don't know for sure but you may run into problems when trying to book Thalys in advance from abroad. In that case you could ask the Dutch family for help booking from the Netherlands (with Dutch bank account).