Dom’s train quest.2 : 2 homes, 1 European Union adventure – Part 4 – From Brussels to Eurostar (ES 9157)

At Brussels, I had around 80 minutes to change, but I needed to complete check-in 45 minutes before departure. Which means I had less 30 minutes to get into gates. It shouldn’t be a problem except the signage didn’t help. Entrance is hidden as it takes ages to figure out where is it, or I was just tired. Whatever was the reason, It meant I had no time to explore the station. However, my focus was on getting as fast as possible to London by train, so exploring the train station or area was optional.

Check-in, security and border is an easy process after all ‘bureaucracy’ steps.. you can relax in the waiting area where I enjoy another coffee.

While I was going to the platform, I saw a person with a lot of luggage. It always amazed me. Shorter Asian girl is, more and bigger luggage she needs.

The train was a British Rail Class 374 (Eurostar e320). It replaced most of the original fleet a British Rail Class 373 (Eurostar e300). This train is based on ICE 3 (Siemens Velaro) and designed to be compliant with regulations to allow to travel through Channel Tunnel. It has 16 carriages, and it is 400 meters long. The maximum speed is 320km/h. It is a modern and sleek looking train.

I like this train because :

• It has a decent window.
• It feels spacious.
• It has many spaces for luggage.
• It has two carriages with restaurant space, which a great place for socializing. The train was perfectly clean.
• You can see speed on the passenger information display.
• In my carriage wasn’t too many people but the standard class was quite busy.

The seat is OK without being spectacular.

The above oneliner sounds bitter. The reason is that the seat is excellent to do your work on the laptop on quite a good table, but it feels less great for relaxing in comfort. That’s all. I think the seat in the old Eurostar e300 were more comfortable and relaxing. Is it means the seat is terrible? No! It is still one of the best modern seats in the first class in the UK. In fact, it is superior in comparison to first class on Virgin Pendolino or CroscCounty’s Voyagers trains.

Service was very good. They were friendly, helpful and engaging.

In the standard premier class you get light meal with wine.

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Food and drinks.

• The wine was fantastic.
• The light meal taste is quite decent, but the portion is small. As this light meal is included in the price, so I think is a great meal to have it and nothing to complain about it.
• The dessert tastes great.
• As I was still peckish, I bought a snack box which was good for nibbles with a wine and I also bought some meat snack, and it was delicious.
• You will also get free coffee and tea.

The trip was smooth, fast and uneventful. It means I had time to enjoy views from windows. Sadly, it also concludes my adventure.

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We arrived to St Pancras International on the time. I was tired and proud I did. This complete my main part of the trip. I had only quick trip to home using Tube and Chiltren train.

I must admit I like to travel Eurostar. It is a prefered way for me to travel to Paris and Brussels. It is my favourite train operator in the UK. I didn’t travel enough in Europe to say which train and train company is the best, but at present in the UK and Europe, Eurostar is my favourite.

In the next post, I will talk about the domestic part of my trip to home and summary. https://dominiksymonowicz.com/2019/07/11/doms-train-quest-2-2-homes-1-european-union-adventure-part-5-last-leg-of-journey-and-summary/