Eurostar to launch £40 Amsterdam to London trains

The high-speed train service links St Pancras International with Paris, Brussels, Lille, Disneyland Resort Paris, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Eurostar passengers will be able to travel directly from Amsterdam to London from the end of October, the company has announced.

There has been a direct route from St Pancras to the Netherlands since 2018, but returning passengers have had to stop in Belgium for security checks.

UK Border Force officials will now be stationed in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to carry out passport checks.

Tickets will cost £40 each way and will go on sale from 1 September.

Travellers who arrive back in the UK from the Netherlands after 15 August have to self-isolate for 14 days under coronavirus safety measures.

Eurostar travellers have to wear a face covering when travelling due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic

Eurostar said its trains are deep cleaned before every journey and a new seat map system will ensure passengers are kept a safe distance apart.

The new return route starts on 26 October and will mean passengers can travel between St Pancras and Amsterdam Centraal in just over four hours.

Eurostar was established in 1994 as a partnership between three railway companies: SNCF, SNCB and LCR

Passengers will also be able to go from Rotterdam, located south of Amsterdam, and back to London in just under three-and-a-half hours.

The Home Office has confirmed its Frontier Control agreement, currently in place with France and Belgium, will be extended to cover trains coming from the Netherlands.

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Home Secretary Priti Patel said the new arrangements will make it easier for passengers to travel between the two countries.

"This important treaty shows that while we have left the European Union, our links with Europe are stronger than ever," she said.

"It will enable vital security and immigration checks to be carried out in the Netherlands, protecting the UK's border and providing faster and more efficient journeys for passengers."