Luxembourg by train - 10 October 2008

Well before the Channel Tunnel fire occurred, we had booked a Eurostar trip to Luxembourg so we were quite apprehensive when the tunnel was closed. Fortunately, they cleared the tunnel for a restricted train service in time and the only noticeable problem was a much longer queue to check in as they were having to accommodate passengers from withdrawn services.

The plan was to follow the guidance of The Man in Seat 61 in making our way to Luxembourg. A Eurostar ticket to Brussels will get you to any station in Belgium for no extra charge so the scheme is to train to Arlon (a further 2½ hours) for free and then pay for the last 17 minutes to Luxembourg.

His web site suggested this would cost 9.60 Euro one-way or 38.4 for the two of us return. If you are organized you can buy online, or you can buy over the counter in Regent St or, if you have time between trains, at Brussels station.

Christine went to Regent St and they quoted £46.00, a rather large mark up, so we decided to take our chances at Brussels. Imagine our horror when the very pleasant young lady behind the desk typed our request into her system and asked for 82 Euro.

We protested that this could not possibly be correct, she simply shrugged and rotated her screen so that we could see for ourselves.

Finally I asked what the fare was from Brussels to Luxembourg? A bit more typing and she said, "That can't be right" and decided that we needed to pay 38.40 Euro. We left happy, she remained - confused.

We had 10 minutes to locate the platform for our free ride across Belgium.

It was dark when we crossed the border from Luxembourg into Luxembourg heading for Luxembourg. (Belgian province, the country and the city)