London to Berlin by Eurostar High Speed & European Sleeper Train!

what if I told you London to Berlin was just one sleep away well sort of today we'll be taking a high-speed Eurostar train under the sea to Mainland Europe changing at the Belgian Capital Brussels for Europe's newest sleeper train company European sleeper for a final overnight journey to Berlin this is going to be an Epic Journey City Center to city center and over 1,000 km trip across five different countries London to Berlin made possible by both High speed and sleeper trains now sit back and enjoy the [Music] ride tonight's Odyssey begins at some panras International otherwise known as the UK's gateway to Mainland Europe by train this is by far one of the grandest stations in the UK If not Mainland Europe the station design dates back to 1868 and is a grade one listed building this comes despite the threat of closure of the station in the 1960s but was fortunately saved thanks to the successful campaigning by local demonstrators it's safe to say that this station is a far cry from its deric pass the arrival of the Eurostar here in November 2007 has really brought life into this station and now sees over 50 billion people visiting visiting it a year and not just for travel one and six are simply here to enjoy the many shops present within the station it was just before Christmas when I traveled so admiring this year's Christmas tree effort whilst looking around the fine shops and ether is definitely a good way to kill time before being greeted by the long queue ahead of boarding Eurostar boarding is open from 2 hours to half an hour before departure though an earlier arrival certainly reduces the risks associated the being caught up in cues such as this the boarding process begins with scanning your ticket on the barcode reader to pass through the barriers I personally always choose e tickets though tickets can also be printed and offered in paper form if you prefer following this a brief and quick Security check is conducted unlike the plane there's no need to remove liquids and electronics and it's fairly simple from my experience access to the departure Lounge is then granted following two passport checks one by the British and another by the French national authorities to Grant access to the European shenen area which the ukk isn't a part of it's no secret that capacity at s panras is still a long-standing issue with Eurostar and that's highlighted pretty well here however if you can you may want to make a trip to eurostar's business Premier Lounge accessible to those on a business Premier ticket or Eurostar C blanch an at member numbers the price for business Premier in my opinion isn't really Justified and the main benefit is flexibility so it may be best just to check out the cafes and shops located within the departure Lounge instead anyway our Eurostar train today is number es 9142 the 1504 to Brussels via le as you can see it's still relatively early for the platform to be shown however if you want to beat the cues just do a search of the train number on Real Time trains and you'll then be able to view the platforms ahead of everyone else our train is shown as departing from platform 5 so just to the left at the departure Lounge once you clear passport control around 20 minutes before departure we're now called to board I'm at the other side of the train in coach 8 but first I wanted to get a closer look at our train today before boarding and here we are our Eurostar E320 train is at the platform Eurostar operates 17 of these newer E320 part of the Seaman valaro family on all of their routes which were built from 2011 to 2018 Eurostar also operates eight of their original E300 trains on the London to Paris and Brussels routes though you'll more than likely end up traveling on an E320 nowadays along with the team GB branding for the Rugby World Cup in France last year this set Sports eurostar's new logo following the merger with Talis and while I do prefer the older one the new one is warming up to me which do you think is better let me know below boarding may not be the most efficient once the crowds come in but it's still an improvement over the Legacy tgv trains which Eurostar has in its Fleet coach 8 is standard class with a 2X two seating layout and a nice mix of Airline and table seats I'll be in the former for the 2hour ride to Brussels this afternoon today's journey to Berlin will be split into two legs the first leg we'll see us reach Brussels where we then switch to European sleeper to cross Belgium and the Netherlands making stops at the key cities of antp Rotterdam the ha and Amsterdam before arriving into the German Capital at 6:48 a.m. the next morning taking almost 15 hours to cover the 1,200 km trip our departure from London is on time at 4 3 p.m. UK time it's fine and I've 300 it's okay all right it's now straight onto the hs1 highspeed line almost immediately after leaving some panras perhaps the biggest white elephant of the line is Stratford International which we speed through around 5 minutes after departure despite the name and intent by Eurostar to stop here for the London 2012 Olympic Games no International Services have ever called here the name remains to distinguish it from Stratford Regional station just down the road open the hs1 passes through Essex before reaching Kent specifically running parallel to the Tilbury Branch served by C2C Services a large amount of freight traffic for overseas Goods also runs on both routes the Grand View of the dford crossing at Sunset can be seen as we prepare to head into Kent this is a toll bridge over the river temps that has been a vital leag between Essex and Kent since 1991 es Fleet International is one of the victims of recent Cuts made by Eurostar as a result of brexit and the covid-19 pandemic to allow them to focus on their core Roots but is still served by southeastern's domestic highspeed services to London and other destinations in Kent you got pain perhaps one of the most scenic highlights of this route is the Medway Viaduct which allows trains traversing the hs1 to cross the river Medway and view some very picturesque landscape especially with the sunset as a gorgeous backdrop Ashford International is another victim of eurostar's cuts in recent years with Eurostar services not calling here despite the works performed on the platforms to make them more suitable for the E320 trains in late 2019 we instead use a Viaduct to speed past Ashford at the hs1 top speed of 300 kmph before long we reached the end of the hs1 in as little as half an hour of travel after which we slow down as we begin to enter what is undoubtedly one of the greatest engineering marvels of the world the channel tunnel and the second longest undersea tunnel in the world by overall length losing out to Japan's Pyon tunnel by a mere 3 m however it has the longest undersea segment compared to it one thing I do dislike about the Rebrand is the absence of the channel tunnel trivia on the screens but looking back to one of my e 320 rides before the Rebrand we can see that we reach depths of 75 M below sea level and cross a total length of .45 km per tunnel which to this day still astounds me sadly you won't get to see a moving aquarium in the tunnel so it's time to go to the cafe car previously branded Cafe Metropole this has since been changed to Eurostar Cafe to coincide with the Eurostar Rebrand the selection is still rather limited but it's a good place to kill time get a light snack and relax as we speed Under the Sea for the next 20 minutes before emerging in Cal France marking our entry into Mainland Europe the channel tunnel has a history of illegal immigration the fences you see to the right were an attempt to resolve this passing Cal fron yet another victim of the cuts I mentioned earlier yeah there's a lot of them signals are entry onto the LGV Nord the High Speed Line providing the channel tunnel Rail Link on the French side side which opened in 1993 here again we reach speeds of 300 kmph which we're doing close to as we speak our first and only stop before Brussels is Le Europe only served by EUR star on its services to Brussels and Amsterdam with Paris Services passing through here non-stop the stop at leil allows International travelers to connect to other destinations within France as an attempt to partially make up for many connections euros has removed since the covid-19 pandemic leaving Le sees us cross the feton triangle in the direction of the Belgian border shortly afterwards we reach our final High Speed Line of the trip the hsl1 and as the name suggests this is Belgium's first High Speed Line which opened in 1997 to link Brussels with the LGV n and ultimately Paris and the channel tunnel 300 km per hour is once again achieved here but like the UK's hs1 the journey on the line is short and sweet as we prepare to head into Brussels after just over half an hour later thus completing leg one of the journey to Berlin right that's 2 hours down nearly 13 to go as we arrive into Brussels here's your reminder to subscribe to the channel if you're enjoying this content so far many more exciting trips like this are still to come in 2024 and I of course want you along with me thanks our E320 now rests here as It prepares to head back to London but no rest for us just yet brussel's South Station where we've arrived is the start of the second and final leg of the trip to Berlin tonight Brussel zoud or BR midi is the main hub for international train travel in and out of Belgium coming a long way from its past as a Terminal Station when it was first inaugurated in 1869 the station of this size naturally sees a large selection of shops and restaurants which you more than likely want to use given there's no evening meal service on the sleeper trains to Berlin this station is one of Europe's busiest and the busiest in Belgium with over 357,000 passengers annually and it's safe to say that arriving here during rush hour isn't generally a good idea given the large crowds especially if it's your first time visiting here if you'd rather take a more relaxed approach to this trip you could always catch the 1304 and 1404 departures from London which gives you more time to look around the city should you wish but I personally plan my connections very tight well I say that but there's still just over an hour before the train actually departs the 1922 to Berlin H manhoff other way days to travel from Brussels to Germany include the former Talis Services now operated under the Eurostar brand to cologne and Dortmund I reviewed this under the Talis brand if you want to check it out another existing option is to take the IC Inter National service to cologne and Frankfurt the trains on this route are due to be replaced in June 2024 with brand new ones and should make the service much more reliable than it currently is again I reviewed this service before Al be it from [Music] Amsterdam undoubtedly the most time effective option however is to take a direct sleeper train and tonight we'll be on Europe's newest sleeper operator European sleeper this dutch-owned startup company launched their first trains in May 2023 between Berlin and Brussels and are due to extend services to Dresden and Prague on March 25th a week after this video goes live Brussels to Berlin sleepers are now also provided by Austria's obb nightjet service since December 2023 on Tuesdays Thursdays and Saturdays but will soon run daily from Autumn 2024 made possible thanks to the introduction of the nightjet Next Generation sets the train arrives 15 minutes prior to departure the formation for tonight's train is one- seated car five CET cars and one Sleeper Car though as is my Golden Rule with sleeper trains the seats are a false economy and unless you're desperate I would go for a couet or sleeper cabin especially for a near 12-hour trip such as this one haing our train is a bombardier tracks class 186 locomotive similar to those found on the NS inter city direct for example this locomotive has International compatibility capable of working in six different countries across five different voltages The Sleeper Car which we'll be in tonight is a stainless steel ab30 car rebuilt from the old pype coaches dating from the 1950s in the 1990s for the Austrian Belgian and Dutch Railways the CET cars are a mixture of EX Slovakian and Deutsche Barn stock and have a maximum occupancy of six people per compartment though you can purchase sole occupancy for an additional fee in the event solo cabins are unavailable as I'm in a Soo cabin boarding is done from the cette car next to the ab30 sleeper car here the host or in my case Hostess checks your ticket with an ID check later done on board for the latter a passport is always the best form to use as you always have it to hand and here's my room for tonight cabin 42 there'll be plenty of time to check it out properly later but we're first greeted to a leaf which advertises investment into European sleeper given it's still in the startup phase as well as a European sleeper branded bottle of water you'll also find a welcome leaflet to the good night train as well as a menu though as is the case with the nightjet this is fairly limited the turnaround here at Brussels is very quick we leave on time at 7:22 p.m. Central European Time kicking off the final and longest leg to Berlin as with all trains running north of Brussels South we navigate through the city suburbs and its many stations before making it onto the main line towards the Netherlands to my surprise breakfast was given to me shortly after clearing Brussels which I presume is to either avoid being disturbed in the morning or given the early arrival into Berlin I'll show you more when I get up in the morning but for now let's check out the sleeper cabin interior the seats are very plush and comfortable as you'll find with most older generation carriages two of the seats also fold away to enable the lower bed to be made which is done by request of the host but we'll look at this later on you'll find several light switches close to the windows to control the numerous lights present within the room with one being next to the room entrance to function the light on the top bunk which is accessible by a removable ladder just beneath one of the many designated spaces for hanging clothing with the coat hangers present there's also plenty of space to place your luggage both overhead and under the bed once it's made personal bins are located just below the wash basin the latter being a feature which differs from the other types of accommodation on board it's here you'll also find a European power socket though it is designed for Shavers so something to be in mind there's also a temperature control dial just next to the door to manage the ventilation system next to the windows which both feature draw down blinds for increased privacy during the night overall don't expect Perfection with the cabin but also don't be disappointed either it does the job at the end of the day and is comfortable and spacious enough before long we find ourselves arriving into anp's Central Station the second largest city in Belgium and the largest before the Belgian border the through station is underground whilst the Terminus station is the level above and said to be one of the most stunning in Europe the stop here is around 10 to 15 minutes to pick up more passengers once that's done it's back through the tunnels as we emerge to continue the crossing through Belgium albeit on the conventional lines as opposed to the hsl Z used by Eurostar at this point of the trip I started to get a bit hungry so I decided to find the hostess for for something to eat during this time I also noticed a large amount of bike spaces in the rear cette car there's no doubt this operator is Dutch the train is still making its way through Northern Belgium however not as fast as you'd expect if you were to travel on eurostar's daytime trains currently we're reaching just below the tracks and lines maximum 140 km per hour speed due to the lower speed conventional lines being used as we draw closer towards the Netherlands I then went to the hostess before returning to my room as I said there's no dining car on board and there's nothing massively filling snackwise so this is just something to tide me over and bear in mind also that this is exactly the same with the nightjet I've linked the full menu in the description below so you can check the onboard offerings for yourself before long we cross the border into our fourth country on this Odyssey the Netherlands arriving into rendal which Li just after the Belgian border on the platform is an NS verm train preparing to head to either zalla or Amsterdam now there are toilets on board the coaches but I'd be lying if I said they were in good condition the smell in this one in particular was unbearable I have to say so I didn't spend too long in here I then went back to my room to continue focusing on the journey our next stop after rendal is Rotterdam the second largest city in the country following which we progressed to denh Har or the hag the country's administrative capital and third largest city where the Dutch government is situated by the time we reached HS station we picked up a 10-minute delay mainly owing to congestion as the train progressed through the Netherlands as I was aiming to call it a day at Amsterdam I notified the attendant that I wanted to have my bed made and despite the initial difficulties due to stiff lock the bed eventually came out I do have to give credit to the onboard team with European sleeper they really do go above and beyond from a customer service perspective which is very good to see and promising for the company's future Lely safe to say the room definitely looks a lot more like a sleeper cabin now and as for the bed itself it's a lot more comfortable than it looks compared to other sleeper trains I've tried it's more plush and soft and will certainly provide a relaxing sleep indeed Harlem and its Grand train shed is the last station we passed through before entering the Amsterdam suburbs it's worth noting as well that since this video was recorded European sleeper have since added an additional stop at skipo airport providing great air rail links to Germany and very soon the Czech Republic and and finally over 3 hours after leaving Brussels and around 6 and A2 since leaving London we pull into Amsterdam Central Station the main station serving the largest city and de facto capital of the Netherlands it was around 10:30 by the time we arrived here and given the anticipated early arrival into Berlin I used this as an opportunity to call it a day and get some sleep given that it had been rather busy good night all and I'll catch up with you in the morning the next [Music] morning and a very good morning have to say I had a brilliant sleep probably as good as the one I had with the night Riviera almost two years ago [Music] now the journey progress is currently being announced good morning dear passengers this is your train manager and I would like to provide you with the latest information regarding the pro progress of our journey throughout the night we have been able to continue our journey smoothly we expect to arrive at Berlin H banov around 6:48 a.m. so please be ready we only have a few minutes at the station to disembark thank you I then freshened up using the wash basin got dressed and had my breakfast again as with the nightjet don't expect anything groundbreaking but it's enough to fill you up ready to take on the day in Berlin our track Max locomotive is still powering away as it reaches the final leg to Berlin as I mentioned earlier this locomotive has International compatibility meaning that unlike NS and deut jaban at the time of filming there was no locomotive change performed at bad benine and there we have it London to Berlin by both high-speed and sleeper trains overall it's a very useful link by just a simple change at Brussels and whilst there are still some teething issues for Europeans sleeper I'm very hopeful for the company's future the upcoming carriage refurbishment and extension to Prague should really boost the service quality and give it the growth it needs to succeed the cost for this trip was split as £97 for the Eurostar and €275 for my private cabin on European sleeper the latter also including a seat 61 discount of 25% as a promotional offer the hotel and Time Savings alone really make this to be a pretty good deal for the sleeper however my stance is still that Eurostar really need to reduce their prices to better compete with Airlines the arrival into Berlin H bhof is amazingly for Germany on time I want to hear your thoughts now have you taken a different route from London to Berlin by train before what did you think of the method I used and will you consider it let me know in the comments below I hope you enjoyed today's video and don't forget to like and share it to Aid the Channel's growth and also don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications for more content such as this weekly as mentioned by the host there's a very short turnaround at Berlin as the set makes its way to the sidings to work the return to Brussels later today as for me I'm going to explore Berlin as it's actually my very first time here thanks so much for coming with me on this trip and I look forward to bringing you with me on my next one

Channel: OM the Rails

Views: 166,616

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Id: yUEaa_jZi00

Length: 25min 21sec (1521 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 24 2024