The first ever direct train from London to Amsterdam to be open to the public departs from London St Pancras on 3 April 2018 at 8.31am – and The Independent has a bagged a seat on the historic service.

In just three hours and 41 minutes, bar any hiccups, the Eurostar will make its way to Amsterdam station and arrive at 1.12pm (Amsterdam is one hour ahead of the UK).

The much-anticipated service has a limited number of seats left for its inaugural journey, with business class seats costing up to £260. However, there is still no direct return leg; a deal between the UK and the Netherlands on “juxtaposed border controls”, allowing British officials to check passports of passengers at Amsterdam and the intermediate step of Rotterdam, has not yet been finalised.

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This means passengers have to take a Thalys high-speed train to Brussels and connect there for Eurostar for the foreseeable.

Follow all the latest from The Independent's journey below

Key Points The first direct Eurostar from London to Amsterdam will take well under four hours

Tickets cost up to £260 for a one-way journey in business class

There is still no direct service for the return journey to London St Pancras</s>The first paying passengers have set off on Eurostar's new direct rail link between London and Amsterdam.

The service departed from St Pancras International station bang on time at 8.31am today.

The cross-Channel rail operator hopes the new city centre-to-city centre route will take some of the market share currently held by airlines, which offer flights lasting as little as one hour.

Train journeys from London to Rotterdam take three hours and one minute, with Amsterdam reached in three hours and 41 minutes.

One-way fares are available from £35 and two trains a day will depart London and 08.31 and 17.31.

New Eurostar terminals have been built in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

The new service will also see the journey time between London and Brussels cut by 17 minutes as it is reduced from two hours five minutes to one hour 48 minutes

Passengers on the first service were given a tote bag featuring an image of a tulip as well as commemorative British and Dutch flags and a stropwafels.

Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper said: 'The departure of our first commercial service to Amsterdam represents a historic milestone for Eurostar and the growth of international high-speed rail.

'With the Netherlands becoming increasingly popular as a business and tourism destination, the potential for our new route is significant and we look forward to offering our customers a fast, seamless connection between these key European cities.'

Although passengers are able to travel direct from London to Amsterdam, journeys in the opposite direction still involve a change of trains in Brussels for passport checks and security screening.

Eurostar described this as a 'temporary measure' while the UK and Dutch governments complete an agreement to allow border screening on departure in Amsterdam, as happens in Paris and Brussels.

This is expected to be in place by the end of next year.

Mark Smith, founder of rail website The Man In Seat 61, describes the direct trains as 'airline-competitive'.

He said: 'Eurostar has already captured 70 per cent of the London-Paris market, and this new service is a game-changer for London-Amsterdam.

'It's taken a while to implement, but the wait has been worth it.'</s>Direct passenger rail journeys between London and Amsterdam have launched.

The first Eurostar service departed London St Pancras International station at 8.31am on Wednesday.

The cross-Channel rail operator hopes the new city centre-to-city centre route will take some of the market share currently held by airlines, which offer flights lasting as little as one hour.

Train journeys from London to Rotterdam take three hours and one minute, with Amsterdam reached in three hours and 41 minutes.

Eurostar train at St Pancras International Station, as direct passenger rail journeys between London and Amsterdam have launched. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo.

Passengers on the first service were given a tote bag featuring an image of a tulip.

Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper said: "The departure of our first commercial service to Amsterdam represents a historic milestone for Eurostar and the growth of international high-speed rail.

"With the Netherlands becoming increasingly popular as a business and tourism destination, the potential for our new route is significant and we look forward to offering our customers a fast, seamless connection between these key European cities."

Although passengers are able to travel direct from London to Amsterdam, journeys in the opposite direction still involve a change of trains in Brussels for passport checks and security screening.

Eurostar described this as a "temporary measure" while the UK and Dutch governments complete an agreement to allow border screening on departure in Amsterdam, as happens in Paris and Brussels.

This is expected to be in place by the end of next year.

Mark Smith, founder of rail website The Man In Seat 61, describes the direct trains as "airline-competitive".

He said: "Eurostar has already captured 70% of the London-Paris market, and this new service is a game-changer for London-Amsterdam.

"It's taken a while to implement, but the wait has been worth it."</s>Eurostar, the high-speed passenger railway service linking United Kingdom, France, and Belgium via the Channel tunnel, inaugurated Wednesday its new rail service linking the British capital with Amsterdam in less than four hours, according to a company statement.

The first high-speed convoy left London's St. Pancras station Wednesday morning on its way to the Dutch capital and was scheduled to arrive to its Rotterdam stopover in three hours and one minute, before arriving at its final destination, Amsterdam, in a total travel time of three hours and 41 minutes.</s>At £35 (Rs 3,204) and three hours and 41 minutes, you can now reach the Netherlands capital of Amsterdam from London, with Eurostar flagging off its first such service on Wednesday. The cross-Channel rail operator, which runs trains between London, Paris and Brussels, begun its first service from St Pancras International station at 8.31 am and reached Amsterdam at 1.18 pm on Wednesday.

The 550 km journey will be completed enroute Brussels (1 hour and 48 minutes) and Rotterdam (3 hours and 1 minute). Eurostar has omitted a stop in Lille to reduce the travel time between London and Brussels.

Although passengers will be able to travel directly to Amsterdam on the onward journey, return trips to London will involve changing trains in Brussels for passport checks and security screening. Eurostar said this was a ‘temporary measure’ until the countries have an agreement allowing border screening on departure in Amsterdam, as happens in Paris and Brussels.

The company is hopeful that the new train service will wean some business away from the low-cost airlines that have mushroomed in Europe. Eurostar said there were currently more than 4 million flyers between the two cities annually. “As the Netherlands grows in popularity as a key business and tourism hub, the potential for the new service and the overall market is significant,” Eurostar said in a statement. However, a fact check reveals that easyJet, a low-cost carrier, operates flights from four London airports to Amsterdam and that too at affordable fares starting from £29.99 (Rs 2,743.71).

Accroding to the Daily Mail, passengers on the first service were given a tote bag featuring an image of a tulip as well as commemorative British and Dutch flags and a stroopwafels. Eurostar chief executive Mike Cooper called the new train service “historic” and said the move would lead to a spurt in international high-speed rail. “The departure of our first commercial service to Amsterdam represents a historic milestone for Eurostar and the growth of international high-speed rail,” Cooper was quoted as saying in Daily Mail.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>Eurostar passengers were hit by a number of cancellations yesterday following a French train strike. Travellers heading to Paris, Brussels and Lille were hit by the cancellations with 29 services affected. It is the start of a three-month walkout plaguing the country that has also affected flights. Yet today is the launch of the new route from London to Amsterdam, taking just three hours and 41 minutes. But can passengers still buy tickets and how much will they cost? Will they be affected by the train strikes?

Prices for the tickets start from £35 with many of the cheap options already sold out. Passengers can still buy tickets for travel this week, with prices from £179 for one way from London to Amsterdam. Whilst the journey is direct to Amsterdam, coming back is longer and requires a stop. The train will need to stop at Brussels on its return, making the journey four hours and 46 minutes. This should change by 2019 when the British and Dutch governments change the agreement to stop the passport checks in Brussels and allow them to take place in the Netherlands upon departure.

But will the new route be affected by the French train strikes? The website doesn’t currently confirm if they will be but replied to a Twitter user regarding the concern. They wrote: “We can only recommend that you keep an eye on our site for further information.” Anyone travelling with the service should check which times are cancelled with a full list on the website. There are currently a number of trains cancelled to Brussels but none directly to Amsterdam.</s>It's surprising how much you can do...

As of today, only 3 hours and 41 minutes lie between London and Amsterdam, with the launch of the long awaited direct train from Eurostar. Single fares start from £35 and the journey emits 80% less carbon than an equivalent flight – making it both an economically and environmentally viable option for visiting the Dutch city.

For now, the return service is indirect – but it’s is still possible to get there and back in a day. Here’s how to spend a quick jaunt.

08.31: Catch the Eurostar from London St Pancras and arrive in Amsterdam at 13.12 (local time).

Classic Dutch design mingles with Alice in Wonderland imagination at one of Amsterdam’s most visually impressive hotels. You’re not staying the night, so pop into the Andaz for lunch; the hotel’s designer Marcel Wanders crafted the casual Bluespoon Restaurant with a similar whimsical touch (€24.50 for two courses and wine).

Museum Square is an easy one-stop for a fix of Dutch culture. Dominating the space with its Gothic towers is the Rijksmuseum, where tickets cost €17.50.

Make a beeline for Rembrandt’s Golden Age classic The Night Watch, an epic wall-sized painting of the civic guard which even dictated the remodelling of the gallery where it’s hung. Along the corridor, you’ll also find some works by Vermeer.

Afterwards, nip into the Van Gogh Museum (€18), where famous works include Sunflowers – part of a still life series which set a world record in 1987 when a painting sold at auction for $39.9 million.

Both museums can be extremely busy, so book ahead online.

Going home before nightfall doesn’t mean missing out on the ‘Dam’s legendary nightlife scene. Visit The House of Bols to learn the story of Genever, a classic Golden Age spirit which is still popular today. Finish the hour-long experience with a cocktail (included in the €16 ticket price) and stick around to sample a few more experimental concoctions.

17.17 Catch the train back to London. For now, it’s an indirect service so you’ll need to change at Brussels.

Arrive back in London at 21.33 – just in time to grab more drinks and bar bites at George’s Bar at The Gilbert Scott, an Art Deco beauty housed within the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel right inside the station.</s>Share this article with Google Plus

France is being hit by train strikes set to last over two months and it is set to affect people travelling into the country, not just those already there.

The strikes organised by the SNCF (the French rail enterprise) are set to last from 3 April to 28 June, although not on every single day in that period.

The trains will run for three days at a time, as normal, intersected by a series of two-day strikes.

The first two days of strikes are today (Tuesday, 3 April) and tomorrow (Wednesday, 4 April) and a number of Eurostar trains have been cancelled as a result.

These Eurostar services have been cancelled over the next two days.

London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet to Paris (departure time shown is from London St Pancras):

Paris to London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet (departure time shown is from Paris Gare du Nord):

London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet to Brussels/Lille (departure time shown is from London St Pancras):

Brussels/Lille to London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet (departure time shown is from Brussels Midi):

London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet to Paris (departure time shown is from London St Pancras):

Paris to London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet (departure time shown is from Paris Gare du Nord):

London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet to Brussels/Lille (departure time shown is from London St Pancras):

Brussels/Lille to London/Ashford/Ebbsfleet (departure time shown is from Brussels Midi):

Eurostar encourages customers who are travelling in the coming days and weeks to check their site here for other services that will be cancelled.

They also suggest arriving an hour before scheduled departures of services that are still running.

Trains to Disneyland Paris have also been re-routed and will stop in Paris rather than Marne-la-Vallee – full details here.

Any customers who were planning to travel on the overnight train from Paris to Milan will be seriously affected as the train has been replaced by buses, making the 500 mile journey last around 12 hours.

MORE: Dinosaur footprint discovery shows relative of fearsome T-Rex terrorised the UK

MORE: Woman dragged along street after taxi drove away with door still open</s>This morning heralded the launch of direct high-speed passenger rail services between London and Amsterdam via the Channel Tunnel.

Eurotunnel welcomes this historic event: the first Eurostar to connect London to Amsterdam in less than 4 hours crossed the Channel through the Tunnel this morning, reaching the continent at 10:23 local time.

Eurostar and Eurotunnel staff have worked hard to achieve this milestone, with the many obstacles overcome to gain agreement between all parties across 4 different countries having taken considerable effort. Border controls remain to be improved so that customers using this new route can experience the level of fluidity they have the right to expect.

On the eve of the UK leaving the European Union, this new link is a very powerful sign of confidence in the strength of cross-Channel traffic. The new Eurostar service, in the medium term, should capture a little over a quarter of the air traffic on the route, equivalent to more than a million passengers per year.</s>Eurostar passengers have been warned to check before they travel

On Monday evening the French railway workers, employed by the company SNCF, began their three-month walkout.

Dubbed “Black Tuesday” yesterday saw widespread chaos across the French railway network with multiple trains across the country cancelled causing long delays on the few services that are running.

The Eurostar has also been caught up in the action with many trains between London, Paris, Brussels and Lille cancelled.

Yesterday 15 Eurostar trains were cancelled as a result of the walkout with passengers whose trains are still running advised to arrive at the station an hour before departure.

Trains to Germany have also been affected, with travellers warned to check before they travel.
The first ever direct train from London to Amsterdam departs from St Pancras railway station. The new Eurostar service estimated at three hours and 41 minutes arrived six minutes behind schedule.