Train tickets

The IC train to Belgium is jointly operated by the Dutch and Belgian railway companies, so it doesn’t matter if you buy your ticket from the Dutch or Belgian railway company. Do NOT buy your ticket anywhere else, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to involve a middle man for some so straightforward as buying a train ticket from Delft to Bruges.
If you buy your ticket in advance, you can benefit from the Early bird fare. A new condition of this Early bird fare is that it’s only valid on a specific train on a specific time. For each train only a limited number of Early bird tickets are available. This is done to manage the crowds on these trains. More info here; https://www.nsinternational.com/en/promotions/early-bird-belgium

It looks like for travel within the Netherlands, I can just purchase
day of on the app.

You can also just tap in and out of the train platforms with your credit card. No need to buy tickets. I’m headed there myself in Sept. so have been researching all the transportation.

https://www.ns.nl/en/travel-information/check-in-check-out/debit-card

Dutch_traveler, do you know how far in advance those early bird fares are available?

I see the website states “can be booked up to 3 days before departure” but am wondering when they are released for purchase. Thanks!

I don’t know how far in advance you can book train tickets for the Intercity train to Belgium, but you can easily find out yourself on the website to check up to what date tickets are currently available https://www.nsinternational.com/en

Carrie, I guess I will play more on the NS international website. I was trying for dates two months out and it appeared tickets were available. What doesn’t make sense to me is the fares Delft to Bruges are really pricey for the distance, even two months in advance. Then when I look at Bruge to Lille France, which I think is about the same distance, and they are much cheaper. I think I’m going to check out the website from my laptop so I can better see options.

Dutch_traveler, I wasn’t sure if there was a known “early bird tickets are available X number of days in advance.” It sounds like there is not, so I can plug in some random dates to see if I can figure out how far in advance they may be available.

jules m, I’m also traveling delft to brugge. I’m glad you mentioned that some of these tickets can sell out. I was under the impression this was not a concern as I had read here on the forum that trains do not sell out in the Netherlands. I’ll do some poking around later and see if I can figure out when the best time to buy these tickets might be. I’ll let you know what I find.

“ What doesn’t make sense to me is the fares Delft to Bruges are really pricey for the distance, even two months in advance. Then when I look at Bruge to Lille France, which I think is about the same distance, and they are much cheaper”

Every country in Europe has a different railway system with a different pricing system. So it isn’t fair to compare the price of a ticket from a city in Belgium to a city in France to a the price of a ticket from a Dutch city to a Belgian city. The Early bird fare for a ticket from Delft to Bruges is €26,50. I personally don’t consider that to be really pricey for a 3 hour cross border train journey, but YMMV.

Only the trains operated by the high speed rail company Thalys (those trains go all the way to Paris) sell out and are generally more expensive and require a seat reservation. Both the NS and SNCB rails include options and sell tickets on Thalys that require a change in Brussels on the way to Bruges. The Thalys trains are nicer and make the trip a little bit quicker compared to the IC's operated by NS and SNCB, that's about it.

@Dutch traveler, the rates I was seeing were more like 80euro, some 50. My point was that the prices seemed off so I was wondering if there was something I was doing wrong.

@ Carrie, I’m looking all the way to November. I don’t think there is any consistency for when tickets are released. For some dates,I see a mix of times that can be booked, then some say “operating schedule only”, but then others say “ not yet available”. Given the wide range of prices, I’m going to book mine for September soon.

There seems to be some confusion here. Tickets for the non-highspeed train to Belgium technically can’t sell out because these trains have free seating. If there aren’t enough seats, you will need to stand. This means that you can always buy a ticket. But at what price is a different matter.
Because what can definitely sell out is the cheap Early bird fare. The new Early bird fare rules which I placed a link to earlier in this thread, state that per specific train there are only a certain (unknown) amount of tickets available at the Early Bird fare.
Before the fare rule change, there used to be an unlimited amount of Early bird tickets available and the Early bird tickets were valid on all trains on the day on your ticket.
Now, a ticket bought with an Early bird fare is only valid for a specific train on a specific time.
This is done in an attempt to try and spread out the passenger flow more evenly throughout the day. When this new fare rule was announced, they said it would only be “during the busy summer”, but it isn’t known if and when it will stop again.
The Early bird fare from Delft to Bruges is €26,50

There seems to be some confusion here.

I imagine you have figured out by now that nothing confuses us Americans more than the trains. 😊 I appreciate all your info. I have several of your posts regarding transportation bookmarked and plan to reread them as it gets closer to my trip.

If I have this straight, the IC trains from delft to brugge will not sell out, but the early tickets can sell out. So, you may have to pay more for the ticket, but all the trains will be available.

Thanks, Dutch Traveler, I understand now.

BTW, it appears there may be a senior discount on the tickets for folks over 60. Since we are between 60 and 65, I typically do not look for a senior discount.

I've figured out which tickets I want. I'm currently trying to purchase them from Save A Train, where I have a voucher. Their website is quite easy to use and I'd highly recommend, however, my problem is that it appears I need to purchase both sets of my tickets in one transaction to use the voucher and I do not see a way on their website to purchase tickets for multiple journeys.

Jules and dutch, thanks for the info. today. I just purchased the early bird for delft to brugge. €39 for first class. (I like 1st class when I have luggage.) Tomorrow I will look for brugge to haarlem.

I’m totally confused.
I started an earlier thread about taking the train from Amsterdam to Bruges and have purchased tickets for the IC because I thought I could use them on any IC train on my travel day in late July.

The ticket says “Early Bird” on it but does NOT indicate anywhere on it that it is only available for a specific train. The ticket has no time on it and says CIV 1184 in one spot and VIA [1184]HAZELDONK(GR)[1088] in another spot.

So my questions are this:

1. I believe I bought these tickets before the updated Early Bird rules mentioned by Dutch Traveler went into effect. Would they honor the rules under which I bought them?

2. Do tickets purchased under the updated rules restricting use of an “Early Bird” ticket to a specific train show a time on them? If not, is there some code or train number that is used instead and how do I determine what time this is?

3. If I am subject to the new rules and there is something on the ticket that indicates the time, how do I get a refund and buy tickets NOW that give me the flexibility to choose whichever departure I want? Can I get a more favorable price for doing so?

Thanks

“ I believe I bought these tickets before the updated Early Bird rules mentioned by Dutch Traveler went into effect. Would they honor the rules under which I bought them?”

Yes, they specifically stated that the new rules only apply to tickets bought AFTER the new rules came into effect.

“Do tickets purchased under the updated rules restricting use of an “Early Bird” ticket to a specific train show a time on them? If not, is there some code or train number that is used instead and how do I determine what time this is?”

Yes, tickets purchased under the updated rules show the time and date.

“If I am subject to the new rules and there is something on the ticket that indicates the time, how do I get a refund and buy tickets NOW that give me the flexibility to choose whichever departure I want? Can I get a more favorable price for doing so?”

Not applicable to you, because the new rules don’t apply to tickets that were bought before the new fare rule came into effect.

“ BTW, it appears there may be a senior discount on the tickets for folks over 60. Since we are between 60 and 65, I typically do not look for a senior discount.”

As I wrote before, different countries have different train systems and different pricing systems.
Belgium offers a very generous discount to all passengers aged 65 years and older. Everyone, including tourists, can use this discount and you only need to show your passport to prove your age if and when the ticket inspector wants to check your ticket.
The Netherlands offers a discount to those passengers that are 60 years and older, but you need to have a personalized OV-chipcard worth a monthly subscription in order to be able to use this discount. So this discount is generally not available to tourists.

Thanks Dutch Traveler for clarifying.
Appreciate your help.