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Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

independent.co.uk

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Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#61

Post by cm2187 »

jakubadamw wrote: post #26
JoeSpaghettio wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isnt actually a brexit thing. There always was passport controls as the UK was never part of Schengen.

The UK was never part of Schengen, but it was part of the single market. So while passport/ID controls have always been performed on the UK border crossings with other EU countries, customs controls had not – until Brexit.

I am not aware that customs controls are made in the passport area, at least not between London and Paris. It is done at the exit of the terminal, in a non blocking way like in UK airports (and always was, they were already looking for illegal products before Brexit).

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#63

Post by avar »

toast0 wrote: post #46
avar wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everywhere? This is the first I've heard of customs checks on trains in Europe at the point of disembarkation. I've been on plenty of cross-border trains where police walk the length of the train and check everyone's passport once it's over the border. Why would failing a customs check cause you to be kicked off the train? Either your goods will be confiscated, or you'll be arrested etc.

> Why would failing a customs check cause you to be kicked off the train? Either your goods will be confiscated, or you'll be arrested etc. It's easier for everyone if you deny entry rather than prosecuting for unlawful entry. If you can kick people off while they're still in a country they are presumed to be in lawfully, they can figure out their documents and come back later. If you arrest them in the destination c…

You're conflating customs with immigration.

When you take a train from e.g. the Netherlands to Germany you're already within Schengen at the point of disembarkation.

The police might check your passport details, but you won't be "deported" back over the border you just crossed.

You might be deported from Schengen in its entirety, but then the fact that you just crossed a border isn't important, but e.g. that you overstayed a Schengen visa.

In cases where there is a border with a non-Schenhen country in Europe the train will stop approximately at the border, and you might be refused entry.

But for e.g. Austria to Germany the German police might board at the first German station after the bonder, and then walks the train as it's in motion. That's because it's a customs check.

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#64

Post by willsmith72 »

avar wrote: post #63
toast0 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why would failing a customs check cause you to be kicked off the train? Either your goods will be confiscated, or you'll be arrested etc. It's easier for everyone if you deny entry rather than prosecuting for unlawful entry. If you can kick people off while they're still in a country they are presumed to be in lawfully, they can figure out their documents and come back later. If you arrest them in the destination c…

You're conflating customs with immigration. When you take a train from e.g. the Netherlands to Germany you're already within Schengen at the point of disembarkation. The police might check your passport details, but you won't be "deported" back over the border you just crossed. You might be deported from Schengen in its entirety, but then the fact that you just crossed a border isn't important, but e.g. that you over…

no, this is immigration. it's the netherlands to england, not the same as austria to germany at all, that's the point

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#65

Post by agent327 »

laurencerowe wrote: post #51
agent327 wrote: post #49

I have traveled between Amsterdam and London by Eurostar and by plane, and I don't see why anyone would take the train, considering that it takes much longer and also costs much more. To put some numbers to this, if I were to travel to London on December 13th (a Wednesday), I'm looking at 120 euro for a five hour trip by train. Or I can fly for 76 euro and be there in an hour. Oh, and the train also requires you to b…

I’ve made this trip by train in the past (changing at Brussels). It is a little slower but you need to consider the time getting to and from the airports. Unless you’re flying from London City Airport you’re only really saving an hour. The train is far more pleasant. This was pre-Brexit though when passport control was much faster and I only had to show up half an hour early for the train.

From most of the London airports you can get to central London in about an hour. Add another two hours to be early at the airport. Travel time to the airport (Schiphol) for me is 15 minutes, so totale 4h 15m.

But wait! The train also requires you to be there an hour early (Eurostar actually recommends to be there 90 minutes early), and travel time to Amsterdam is 35 minutes, so the train journey now stands at 6h 35m.

What aspect of the train makes it far more pleasant? Because I don't think I agree with that, not on this particular trip.

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#66

Post by laurencerowe »

agent327 wrote: post #65
laurencerowe wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve made this trip by train in the past (changing at Brussels). It is a little slower but you need to consider the time getting to and from the airports. Unless you’re flying from London City Airport you’re only really saving an hour. The train is far more pleasant. This was pre-Brexit though when passport control was much faster and I only had to show up half an hour early for the train.

From most of the London airports you can get to central London in about an hour. Add another two hours to be early at the airport. Travel time to the airport (Schiphol) for me is 15 minutes, so totale 4h 15m. But wait! The train also requires you to be there an hour early (Eurostar actually recommends to be there 90 minutes early), and travel time to Amsterdam is 35 minutes, so the train journey now stands at 6h 35m.…

I was going city centre to city centre. If I lived near the airport I’d probably have taken the plane instead.

Being on the train is just a lot more relaxed in my experience. It’s much quieter and there are far fewer changes to make.

Having to be there an hour or more early now obviously makes things less convenient on the train than it was for me when I lived in London 15 years ago. I got there half an hour early and it took less than 10 minutes to get through security and passport security.

Last time I flew into Heathrow it took me 40 minutes to get from the plane to Heathrow underground station with no checked bags and no queue at passport control.

It’s probably not as bad flying on a larger plane from London where you get a gate but I’ve spent well over 30 minutes taxiing and waiting for the bus to meet the plane at Schiphol which was about as long as my flight from Norwich.

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