Thalys Premium Class - Amsterdam to Paris at 300 km/h

today's video sponsor is surf shark hello and welcome to another video and welcome aboard premium class on talis today i'm taking the train instead of flying all the way from amsterdam to paris via rotterdam and brussels this is a fantastic train trip i really hope you come with me and find out why taking the train is often a lot better than flying come and join me [Music] for today's trip we'll be setting off at the grand amsterdam central station one of the finest railway stations in europe the station is right at the heart of amsterdam city centre and plugged into four metro lines eight tram lines dozens of bus routes and the city's ferry network which gives it a great head start over flying for this trip driving from amsterdam to paris will take you about six hours if you get lucky for the traffic we'll be doing the trip at a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour and even with four stops we'll arrive in paris just three hours and 20 minutes after we leave now google maps is quite clever but not so clever it would stop itself from suggesting i take the plane for this trip it claims the plane takes an hour and 15 minutes but that doesn't factor in getting to off from the city centers security at the airport passport control check-in times and all the other significant time penalties that come with flying getting from charles de gaulle airport to the centre of paris by public transport alone takes over 45 minutes anyway why bother with the plane paris gardunold which is where we arrive is next to the city centre plugged into all the public transport systems and yeah need i go on you can spend some of the time you save over flying by admiring the station here in amsterdam it's an exceptional building dating from 1889 and is the most visited of all of the country's designated national heritage sites [Music] talus issues e-tickets so you can just scan the barrier with your phone screen and in you go there's no check-in to worry about and no cumbersome security check the whole journey takes place in europe's schengen area so there are no passport formalities either [Music] the trainees from platform 15 today i'm here a little bit early because i want to see the train come in it should take us over three hours to get to paris today going via rotterdam and brussels the dutch railway system has one of the most striking liveries of any national rail operator in the world central station is a hub for dozens of local regional and intercity groups [Music] this is our train a talus pba unit which is a variant of the tgv reso trains you see in france this pba unit can work on three different voltages from the overhead line which gives it international compatibility across three countries there are four standard carriages a cafe car and three first class carriages two of these are branded as comfort and one is telus premium the higher of the two grades of first class available on the train the talus and tgv trains may be a classic design but the dutch couploppa train is a 70s classic and the first train many people associate with the dutch railway system if like me you've booked a premium ticket that's the highest class of ticket on talis you're actually able to enter the ns international lounge here at amsterdam central and here is the ns international lounge which seems to be shared with the rigas express facility here at amsterdam central and it is right at the end of platform two where if you look a little bit more closely you can see these fantastic hotels which face over the platforms i don't know why i didn't book in here really should have done of course if you're smart you can use the side entrance to these platforms and access the lounge without even entering the underbelly of the station there's a little hack for you the lounge is accessible only to premium passengers and to be honest it's quite basic it's quiet has good wi-fi and you can grab a coffee but i wouldn't arrive here too early today's video sponsor is surf shark an award-winning vpn or virtual private network surf shark is part of my personal travel arsenal for a whole list of reasons if you're not attracted to the idea of leveraging lower ticket prices or staying safe on public wi-fi maybe the white listing facility industry-leading encryption and a quick kill switch in case you lose internet might convince you to give it a go but i find it so annoying when you can't access some content overseas but surf shark can help activate the vpn and select an appropriate spoof location and voila the content is restored it's dead easy and costs absolute peanuts too you'd be mad not to consider it especially as surf shark have a special deal for my viewers go to surf shark dot deals forward slash winging it for 83 off and three extra months for free of surfshark vpn okay so that's quite handy there's a little diagram that tells you i need to be in zone a and we are currently in in zone f so head down the platform a bit and that's where first class carriage one will be that's where my seat is in premium my [Music] and here we are to the right is something a bit special we'll look at later but for now here's palace premium which features a one two seat layout british train companies take note the overhead racks can carry a full-size cabin bag with no problems it's exactly 11 15 when we leave amsterdam central to the right is a short rail stub which is all that remains of the vesta dock railway yards long since redeveloped our first stop for this trip is amsterdam airport shipper where we dive underground beneath the runways [Music] between here in brussels we maintain a healthy speed of over 170 miles per hour about 275 kilometers per hour so let's take a quick look at the seat which contains two charge points and yes the bin was emptied before we set off today there's a foot rest too i find these a bit irritating but if you're a bit shorter you'll find these quite useful they can be stowed away if you don't fancy using them the seats themselves are very comfortable they're well sprung and with a lovely soft headrest and they're probably one of the comfiest seats on any european train there's also an electric recline function if you want to kick back and relax a very big fold down table is also at the seat which means eating a meal or working on a laptop won't be a problem at all there are full-length blinds at the windows too in case you get bored of watching the low countries slip past your window so a quick explain about the classes of service on talis standard is the basic level of service ordinary 2-2 seating layout and no extra features comfort however has the same seats as we have here in premium but doesn't have any of the bells and whistles you'll find here think of it as a basic first class bigger seats and not much more premium however features refundability and flexibility lounge access newspapers taxi reservations not quite sure how that works to be honest oh and not listed here because at the time of this video's release it's suspended due to covid but also this video was filmed during covert so i'm kind of confused anyway not mentioned is the meal service premium normally includes a cold meal which is similar to what you'd find on a business class flight of this length or services like eurostar i think this sort of meal for lunch is perfect although bear in mind it's basically the same portions and still a cold meal for dinner if you decide to travel in the evening these trains do look in need of a refurb but to be fair everything works and the toilets were clean just my usual reminder though for british people the flush mechanism is on the floor and foot operated if you're hoping to see lots of scenery on this trip well you can see a lot of flat countryside but in built up areas this sound proof shooting will stop you seeing too much of the towns you bypass the first major stop is rotterdam after this we accelerate over the wide hollands deep river [Music] do [Music] let's look at the rest of the carriage there are plenty of storage places for bigger suitcases out here and there's also a disabled accessible toilet here too which is of course much larger than the standard one at the other end of the carriage [Music] we would like to thank you for coming time day belgium has nearly as big a problem with graffiti as i do with the autofocus on this camera it's all over the place i'm afraid [Music] and finally 186 miles per hour or 300 kilometers an hour that's our maximum speed which we'll maintain for most of the journey to brussels and onto paris and it's time to remind you that liking commenting and subscribing to me on youtube is free and if you subscribe you'll be notified of all my future videos you can also follow my travels in real time on twitter and instagram too so here's that little secret i referred to when i boarded this is a mobile office of sorts i can't see any reference to this on talus's website at all and i don't think it's possible to book it but it's cool right it's right at the very front of the carriage and while it's a public area of the train it just seems to be a very well kept secret that it even exists [Music] [Music] this is brussels south our last stop before paris and where the train really fills up so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] ladies and gentlemen arriving at paris north's final destination of the train we would like to remind you that it remains mandatory for your hamas conversation please keep the distance from the other travelers by different parking from the trains thanks for your cooperation we wish you a nice day and we hope to see this we arrive into gardener bang on time three hours and 20 minutes city center to city centre overall a great train trip and definitely preferable to flying the talus also operates from paris and brussels to cologne and dortmund in germany so maybe next time you need to travel give them a try anyway don't forget to visit surf shark dot deals forward slash winging it for 83 off and three extra months for free of surfsharkvpn thank you so much for watching and i will see you next time

Channel: Wingin’ It! Paul Lucas

Views: 217,759

Keywords: thalys premium class, thalys first class, high speed train, thalys paris to brussels, lgv nord, high speed train europe, train review, trip report, train travel, thalys train, thalys trip report, thalys brussels, gare du nord, trains at paris gare du nord, thalys first class paris to amsterdam, thalys first class comfort vs premium, high speed train in the world, high speed train passing through station, paul lucas, wingin it, thalys review, thalys premiere classe

Id: bXHNFTakjXY

Length: 19min 31sec (1171 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 31 2021