The Belgian national railway company, SNCB, will relaunch at the end of the year the offer tested during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The three-hour journey should once again be offered from €34.
Connecting Paris-Nord to Brussels-Midi more slowly but paying less was one of the objectives of the experiment launched this summer by the Belgian national railway company. During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, SNCB provided up to two direct daily return trips between the French and Belgian capitals, reviving a connection that had disappeared in 1996 when the Franco-Belgian high-speed line opened. Belgian Eurocity trains ran on the classic line, resulting in a journey time doubled compared to the Eurostar (around 3 hours compared to 1h23).
Good news for travelers, this service will be continued from December, announced SNCB in a press release dated September 6.The new timetables will be available in a few weeks via the SNCB online journey planner.“, she specifies. As this summer, the trains should make a single stop in Mons, facilitating connections with other cities in Wallonia such as Charleroi or Namur. But for the moment, no service is scheduled on the French side, to the great regret of some passengers who are requesting a stop in Saint-Quentin or Maubeuge.
From €34 one way
Although SNCB has not announced ticket prices, they should be identical to those charged this summer, namely a one-way ticket between €34 and €49 in second class and between €49 and €69 in first class, even for a last-minute purchase. A fixed rate of €15 was offered for children under 12. Tickets were available exclusively on the Belgian SNCB International website. It remains to be seen whether they will be put on sale on other channels. For example, the offer was absent from SNCF Connect, which made it invisible to French customers.
By comparison, Eurostar (the new name for Thalys), which provides up to twenty daily return trips between Paris and Brussels, offers tickets starting at €29, but you have to plan ahead to get this starting price. A few days before departure, prices can be around a hundred euros, even if a new, fairly restrictive last-minute offer allows you to divide this price by two or three.
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