Hi, I am so confused about train tickets from Brussels to Delft. The train schedule we want, which allows us 14 minutes rather than 6 minutes to transfer in Rotterdam, is run by 2 different train services - National Railway Company of Belgium (ECD 9535) for the international train and NS Intercity (3243). But when I go to each of their sites I cannot book the train times desired, only other options with either the 5 minute or much longer transfer times. Do I need to buy those tickets individually to get the trains we prefer?
Posted by
Chicago
8375 posts
What specific day or how far in advance are you trying to book this?
You should be able just book the whole journey on either the national railroad of the Netherlands site or the Belgium site.
https://www.ns.nl/en
https://www.belgiantrain.be/en
Only trains with a leg Brussels to Amsterdam operated by Eurostar need to be reserved in advance.
All others are fixed price and don't really sell out and the ticket is good for any train on the day and routes you are traveling on.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8500 posts
Since you are crossing the border, you want SNCB International https://www.b-europe.com/EN or NS International https://www.nsinternational.com/ to book.
The Brussels to Rotterdam leg could be on Eurostar, fast but costly, or you can select a route with just intercity trains, maybe with a change in Antwerp. As long as you select to see all options (not just fastest routes) you should see all the choices.
The other advantage of intercity trains, is that you can take any train that day, as well as stop and explore any town along the way, before getting to Delft. If any leg uses Eurostar, you are locked into that time and seat.
Posted by
Green Bay
22082 posts
Since this is an international journey between Belgium and Netherlands, use this site:
https://www.b-europe.com/EN
Stay off of the Eurostar and save a lot of money and the journey is only 30 minutes longer.
The journey you are looking at costs 22.90 EUR for the date I looked at (Feb 20). In Rotterdam, you go from Track 12 to Track 9, meaning going down to the ground level, then walking a short distance to the stairs/escalator/elevator up to Track 9. 6 minutes should be doable, but if you miss it due to a late arriving train, just wait for the next one. There are like 12 trains every hour from Rotterdam to Delft, maybe on other tracks. It is only a 10 to 14 minute train ride from Rotterdam to Delft.
Further research indicates that almost all of the trains from Rotterdam to Deft use either Track 9 or Track 8 and these tracks share the same platform. So if you miss a train to Delft, there should be another train to Delft across the platform in 5 minutes.
Posted by
Wengen
2933 posts
First of all this: Tickets are for a route, not a train. So if you buy a ticket Brussel - Delft you do not buy a ticket for ECD 9535 and then IC 3243. You will not even find these train numbers on station displays.
What you buy is a ticket valid for a route, and for a train category. So in this case you will buy a ticket for Brussels to Delft, valid on an ECD (a type of train) to Rotterdam, and than on any train from Rotterdam to Delft.
You can get a reduction on your ticket if you commit to a particular departure from Brussels, but from Rotterdam to Delft you can take any train you want. And there are something like 10 trains per hour on that route. So there is no need to worry about that connection.
So book this on www.b-europe.com as one booking: Brussel to Delft
- Book a mid-flex ticket if you do not mind being bound to a departure from Brussels. In that case you will have to take the train you selected from Brussel. But from Rotterdam onwards you can take what you want. You can even spend some time in Rotterdam if you want.
- Book a flex ticket if you want to be free to leave Brussels at a time of your own choosing.
Note: In the Netherlands it is not even possible to book a particular train. The Dutch Railways basically run a nationwide Mass Transit System. Think NY Subway, but with nicer trains. The Belgian Railways basically run a mass transit system as well, but not as good as the Dutch...
Posted by
Lake District, England
9291 posts
And there are something like 190 trains per hour on that route
That will be 190 trains per day.
Posted by
Green Bay
22082 posts
Which comes to about 12 trains per hour over a 16 hour time period, ie a train every 5 minutes. More frequent than the NYC subway.
Posted by
UK
960 posts
I did similar, except from Brussels to Utrecht, changing at Rotterdam. I caught the cheaper (non-Eurostar) train from Brussels.
My train ticket looked like I only had ten minutes to transfer at Rotterdam but I was desperate for a loo (didn’t want to attempt the train toilet as it was a very crowded service). But a ticket inspector at Rotterdam station assured me I could take any of the dozens of onward trains to Utrecht.
Note: I had to pass through the ticket gates to reach the loos at Rotterdam, and my ticket (which was Brussels-Utrecht) would not open the gates but the inspector let me through and then back in again with no problem to catch my onward trains.
The Dutch rail service is a joy, btw. Runs just like mass transit in terms of tapping in and out, catching any train, not needing to buy a ticket once there. Same for the trams (there’s a great tram from Delft via The Hague to the beach at Scheveningen).
Posted by
Wengen
2933 posts
More frequent than the NYC subway.
By American standards the Netherlands is just a big city.
https://brilliantmaps.com/empty-netherlands/
But a better organised one, with far better public transit. The Dutch railways long term plan is to have a train every 10 minutes at least on most of their lines. Their model is Japan.