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London to Gent / Ghent / Gand by train
How to take a rail journey from London to Gent/Ghent
Gent/Ghent is one of the easiest locations to access when travelling from London to Europe by train.
Simply take the Eurostar to Bruxelles and then hop on one of the frequent trains from the Belgian capital to Gent/Ghent
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Routes
From London St Pancras International to Gent Sint-Pieters / Gand Saint-Pierre
Journey Summary
2hr 50min - 3hr 5min* (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
The variations in journey time partially depend on the connecting time between the trains at Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station.
More information is available on our changing trains at Bruxelles-Midi station guide.
The quicker journey times are indicative of a connecting time between trains of around 20 minutes.
But the ticket will be valid on any train between Bruxelles and Gent/Ghand and there are a minimum of 2 x IC trains on from Bruxelles per hour.
*The journey time shown on the Eurostar website does not include the Bruxelles/Brussels to Brugge/Bruges journey
Current timetable:
Mon - Friday = 3 x connections per day
Saturday = 2 x connections
Sunday = 3 x connections
Usual timetable, pre-pandemic:
Mon -Thurs= 8 x connections per day
Friday = 9 x connections
Sat/Sun = 7 x connections per day
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
Bookings Open: 180 days ahead of the travel date
Eurostar sells 'Any Belgian Station' tickets that are valid for the Eurostar between London and Brussels/Bruxelles + the IC (Intercity) train from Brussels to Gent/Ghent
So when looking up this journey on Eurostar, enter 'Any Belgian station' in the search box.
A big plus of the 'Any Belgian Station' ticket is that you can opt break up the journey and explore Brussels/Bruxelles between trains, without incurring additional charges.
You only have to take the train to Brugge/Bruges train within 24 hours of arriving in Brussels.
The price shown below is the standard, most heavily discounted, one way Standard Class price.
Eurostar frequently offers special fare/deals promotions, so the price you see on the home page of the Eurostar website MAY be cheaper.
But check the terms and conditions of these deals BEFORE making a booking. The special price MAY depend on additional factors, such as the need to book a return trip and/or MAY not be available when making day trips.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here.
Another big plus of booking the Eurostar direct on Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility - which enables you to change the seat that you will have been initially assigned when making a booking.
Click on the 'Eurostar train details' for more information.
The ticketing terms:
If you book Standard or Standard Premier tickets, you can exchange them if need be, to an alternative departure on your booked route; but if you want to transfer your ticket to a new departure less than 7 days before your travel date, you will need to pay an admin fee of £30 for Standard Class tickets, £40 for Standard Premier tickets PLUS the price difference with the new ticket you will be booking.
What's new, in response to the pandemic, is that these £30/40 charges aren't applied if you want to transfer to an alternative departure more than seven days before your travel date.
Business Premier tickets are less restrictive, in response to the pandemic they can now be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here
Using Rail Passes on Eurostar:
Rail pass users can now pay reservation fees to travel on Eurostar trains, in a similar manner to other international European high-speed trains.
The new rail pass reservation fees are similar to the cheapest single journey ticket prices, but as those cheapest tickets can sell out quickly, it's likely that the rail pass reservation fees will save money.
You can purchase these online with no booking fees via B-Europe - or they ARE now available on the Eurostar website.
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on Eurostar services to sell out days or weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.
You can obtain a rail pass reservations without paying a booking fee at Eurostar stations.
However, if you want to do this on the day of travel be prepared to be flexible re: the train you will take.
If you are a UK resident, your rail pass + reservation is only valid if you take a train from the UK on the first day that your pass is valid for and return to the UK on the final day that you will be using a pass.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Eurostar | from £51 | |
| Trainline | from £51 |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar is operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi or Amsterdam
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.
Most of the departures between London and Bruxelles will be by the e320 trains, but the e3300 trains are usually used on some departures.
The usual calls at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations, have been been temporarily suspended until further notice.
However as the trains only call at these stations to pick up passengers. these station calls are not included on the departure boards at St Pancras International, or usually announced on the train.
Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure; though this time increases to 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:
1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.
3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.
4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.
5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France and Belgium.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you see Gand on the electronic departure information at the station, the train will be heading to Gent.
Final Destination: Oostende or Blankenberge or Brugge or Knokke
There are only 2 x of these fast IC trains per hour at weekends - they are non-stop from Bruxelles-Midi to Gent,
There are also other (much) slower trains (R) trains from Bruxelles to Gent, but take care to avoid those, as tickets won't be any more expensive if you take the fast IC trains.
Some of those slower trains terminate at Gent/Gand - so they stand out on the departure screens.
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