Travelling from Brussels Midi to Brussels Central

Thank you for replying Steve. I am confused though. Isn't the train and metro the same?

The metro is a transit system that connects you to stations within a city. The "train" is a transit system that transports you from city to city. In your situation it's best to use the "train" even though you not going to another city. There are several different train stations in the city of Brussels, and all the inter-city trains travel between these stations before heading out of Brussels. So in your unique situation it would be easier to use the inter-city trains to travel between these two stations within the same city.

If memory serves me correctly, it isn't all that simple by metro. It involves at least one change. It's much simpler just to hop onto an intercity train, as these move directly between stations. Look for a train going to Leuven, Hasselt, Antwerp (Antwerpen/Anvers) or Liege/Luik. Your Thalys ticket is valid for any Brussels station. And even it wasn't... the conductors never check tickets between stations in Brussels. They check tickets after the trains are outside the city.

Yes, Brussels Midi to Central is a pretty awkward trip by Metro. Change to a local train.

What happened to Steve's reply????? I've noticed some replies of late have disappeared shortly after being posted. Is the board malfunctioning?

If you book on the Thalys website and specify from: ABS (any Belgium station), then write in Belgium Central, you can get a Thalys ticket all the way, including any of several 3 minute connections by regional or IC trains between Central and Midi.

If you already have your Thalys ticket and it says from: Midi, I think you'll have to buy Central to Midi separately.

However, it looks like the price is the same from either Midi or from Central with the extra train, so maybe they would exchange it at the ticket counter.

Got it! Thank you everyone!
I'll note down the city names and make sure to take a train going to one of them.

I don't know about the missing reply from Steve, but ANY long-distance surface rail ticket to "Brussels" is valid for Belgian (SNCB, the national railroad) trains continuing to the THREE downtown Brussels stations. This does not include BRU. You look at the signboard, go to the platform, and lug your luggage to the train. This is less walking than taking the Metro, and cheaper. There are several an hour during the daytime. This also applies to locally-purchased tickets from, say, Antwerp or Gent, etc. In that case, the train stops at all three stations without a change of train.

The "Any Belgian Station" option used to be free, but it is no longer free on Thalys or Eurostar. It isn't necessary to go to Brussels Centraal on a local train.

Similar situation with some differences. I will be traveling from London to Brussels via Eurostar with and ABS (any Belgian station) ticket. This means I can get back on the train to any station I'm Belgium within 24 hours of arrival.

The Eurostar train gets in to Brussels-Midi, and I want to stay in the grand place for the night, which is next to Brussels-Central station.

I'm told that any ticket to Brussels is valid for a transfer to and of the Brussels train stations, but would this transfer use up my free pass to "any Belgian station"?
Should I buy individual tickets to and from midi and central so I save mg transfer within 24 hours to get me to Bruges the next morning?

Complex question I know, please help if you can.

Thanks

Mike

Steve may have deleted his post.