The Amsterdam-London Eurostar train is here; we were on board today to find out everything

After years of anticipation, tickets for the Amsterdam-London Eurostar link finally went on sale today.

To celebrate the release of ticket sales, Eurostar invited a select group of travellers to experience the inaugural journey today, 20 February, and one lucky ticket holder was Lonely Planet’s Editorial Director and train aficionado Tom Hall.

“Travellers are in for a treat” according to Tom. “The new Eurostar train whizzed from the centre of London to the centre of Amsterdam in just over four hours along high-speed rails through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. I was lucky enough to be allowed in the driver’s cab and experience the 300 kilometres per hour speed of the journey in the thick of the action.”

The new journey will be of great interest to travellers looking to reduce their carbon footprint, as the company estimates their train journey will produce 80% less carbon than the equivalent short-haul flight.

“This is a major game-changer,” Tom says. “It felt a little surreal to be walking out of Amsterdam Centraal into the winter sunshine off a Eurostar, but it also makes two of Europe’s best cities for travellers feel a lot closer together. It means a weekend away need not involve the stress of an airport.”

For now, passengers on the new London-Amsterdam service will need to change in Brussels but in time the service will be completely direct, shortening the journey time even further. Passengers can also disembark at Rotterdam, opening up new tourism possibilities for the Netherlands’ second city.

Starting on Wednesday 4 April there will be two services a day at 8.30am and 5.31pm. Tickets are on sale now and cost from £35 ($48 US) each way.