Eurostar Connection Tickets

Victors_Bruvver · 1 April 2007 at 9:14PM

I do not know if this has been posted before but I thought you should be aware that they is a little known (well to me at least) ticket called the London International CIV.

I have since moved from Lincolnshire but up to 2006 I was able to go along to my local rail station and buy one of these return tickets that were not only cheaper than a standard return ticket but also had no restriction on what time of the day you travelled. Also included is a Cross London underground ticket and supposedly forms part of your Eurostar ticket that entitles you to the international conditions of carriage i.e. if there are any delays on any part of your journey both outward and return, Eurostar are obliged to put you on the next service at no additional cost.

Now that I have moved to Kent and planning to use Eurostar from Ashford to Paris, I inquired at my local South East station if the ticket was still available and I was told it was. I cannot find a link on the National Rail enquiries website regarding fares as I believe they are only available at station ticket offices which is fair but other than the very useful https://www.seat61.com website where he also informs you "Tickets to London International CIV include the Underground across London to Waterloo (or Liverpool Street, as you are also entitled to buy these tickets in conjunction with combined train+ferry tickets via Harwich-Hoek van Holland)."

Obviously with Eurostar moving to St Pancras later this year it will probably be okay to buy the connection ticket to that location but with both Stratford and Ebbsfleet also opening I cannot see it working for the latter as it is literally a "standalone" station with no known public transport connections! Unless someone can tell me differently please.

TimothyEBaldwin · 2 April 2007 at 11:25PM

Stratford's opening has been postponed until 2009, when domestic services start. Ebbsfleet will have a bus service, and domestic train services from 2009; it is also near Northfleet station.

You can check fares on the National Rail website by entering London International.

They may also more expensive, Hull Trains do not offer advance purchase ticket from Selby to London International.

Victors_Bruvver · 3 April 2007 at 8:46AM

TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »

Stratford's opening has been postponed until 2009, when domestic services start. Ebbsfleet will have a bus service, and domestic train services from 2009; it is also near Northfleet station.

You can check fares on the National Rail website by entering London International.

They may also more expensive, Hull Trains do not offer advance purchase ticket from Selby to London International.

Thanks, I eventually found the conditions of carriage page on the National Rail website and note that Ashford is included in these "special" tickets.

Surprised that Hull Trains are not offering the ticket as I thought it was a condition set down by the UK & Europe. Also surprising is the fact that neither Eurostar of the TOCs promote these tickets. Perhaps if they were more widely known about down here in Kent & East Sussex more people would have used Ashford International as their starting point for Eurostar to the continent. Now we have the possiblity of Ashford losing all its Eurostar services to Ebbsfleet and people having to get to that station by car or bus which doesn't say much for the government's intergrated transport policy - is there one?

TimothyEBaldwin · 5 April 2007 at 12:10AM

Victors_Bruvver wrote: »

Thanks, I eventually found the conditions of carriage page on the National Rail website and note that Ashford is included in these "special" tickets.

Got a reference for that?

Victors_Bruvver wrote: »

Surprised that Hull Trains are not offering the ticket as I thought it was a condition set down by the UK & Europe.

To clarify, the Selby-London International walk-up return fare of £81.10 is valid on Hull Trains, it just a lot more expensive than advance purchase Selby-London return fare of £30. GNER's Selby-London International advance purchase return is £38.

It appears Hull Trains' advance purchase tickets are valid strictly on Hull Trains only!

Victors_Bruvver wrote: »

Also surprising is the fact that neither Eurostar of the TOCs promote these tickets.

Eurostar is part owned by British Airways and SNCF. SNCF use their website to promote flights in competition with their own trains! Despite being the major owners of RailEurope, SNCF do a better job of online flight sales than online train ticket sales, try for example London to Barcelona.

On the other hand SNCB (also part owners of Eurostar) promote train travel to places as far as Madrid and Warsaw, and Deutsche Bahn offer though tickets from London to Berlin, which Eurostar won't sell at Waterloo International ticket office!

SNCF also fail to sell the cheap tickets (Paris-Vienna single under £25) for the Orient Express, instead they are withdrawing the French section of the route in June.

Victors_Bruvver wrote: »

... which doesn't say much for the government's intergrated transport policy - is there one?

The government seems intent to prevent more international service with silly "safety" and "security" rules.

Victors_Bruvver · 7 April 2007 at 7:29AM

TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »

Got a reference for that?

I initially lost the page but here it is and it certainly states that Ashford is one of the stations.

I just hope that with these posting more and more people will use the ticket, especially to Ashford International as Eurostar are going to reduce some of the services from that station later this year, especially when you think that the Kent high speed railink to Ebbsfleet does not start until until 2009!

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/travel_europe.html

Ellie2758 · 12 April 2007 at 9:08AM

Sorry to be thick but can I just ask, if you buy one of these CIV tickets to use the Eurostar from Ashford to Lille are you guaranteed a seat? If the travel is flexible I assume you're not allocated a seat number. Do you just go along to your local station and ask for a London International CIV ticket? My local station would be Gravesend - can I buy a ticket from there for Ashford to Lille?

Victors_Bruvver · 12 April 2007 at 9:52AM

Ellie2758 wrote: »

Sorry to be thick but can I just ask, if you buy one of these CIV tickets to use the Eurostar from Ashford to Lille are you guaranteed a seat? If the travel is flexible I assume you're not allocated a seat number. Do you just go along to your local station and ask for a London International CIV ticket? My local station would be Gravesend - can I buy a ticket from there for Ashford to Lille?

No need to be sorry, as I have probably confused you.

The London International CIV ticket is to connect to the Eurostar in this country and can only be purchased after you have purchased a Eurostar ticket. So if you are planning to go to Lille out of Ashford and live in Gravesend you simply buy your Eurostar ticket first then go around to Gravesend Station and show them those Ashford-Lille tickets and ask for a "London International CIV" return for Gravesend to Ashford International.

Since posting I have found that whilst the CIV tickets are usually unrestricted ie, travel at any time of the day, you may not get them any cheaper than a Standard Return. This is an area not for a novice like me as there are many different fares out there. I shall be going to a local station in Kent soon to buy my CIV ticket and I will let you know if there is a lower than published price for them.

Red_Panda_2 · 12 April 2007 at 11:02AM

When I used to work for Eurostar you could book the through ticket on the phone at the same time as booking your Eurostar ticket.
If you have enough time they will be sent to you or some of the larger stations had a ticket on departure available.

Some of the tickets did book you seats on specified trains, others allow you to get on any train.
However I have not worked there for a while so it may have changed.

Ellie2758 · 12 April 2007 at 8:53PM

Victors_Bruvver wrote: »

No need to be sorry, as I have probably confused you.

The London International CIV ticket is to connect to the Eurostar in this country and can only be purchased after you have purchased a Eurostar ticket. So if you are planning to go to Lille out of Ashford and live in Gravesend you simply buy your Eurostar ticket first then go around to Gravesend Station and show them those Ashford-Lille tickets and ask for a "London International CIV" return for Gravesend to Ashford International.

Since posting I have found that whilst the CIV tickets are usually unrestricted ie, travel at any time of the day, you may not get them any cheaper than a Standard Return. This is an area not for a novice like me as there are many different fares out there. I shall be going to a local station in Kent soon to buy my CIV ticket and I will let you know if there is a lower than published price for them.

Oh I seeeee! I thought £59 was a good price for a ticket on Eurostar:rotfl:

I would actually drive to Ashford International I think as the connection from me is rubbish. Is there free parking there do you know?

Does anybody know how to get CHEAP eurostar tickets?

Victors_Bruvver · 18 April 2007 at 9:12AM

I went to my local South Eastern station this weekend and bought my International CIV tickets to Ashford International. As I thought, the ticket is an unrestricted open return and cost slightly less that a standard return if it the latter was available. The price I paid was £8.40; exactly what was quoted on National Rail Enquiries website.

There are no return tickets from my station to Ashford International and I would have had to buy two singles for both outward & return journey at a cost of £9.80 at the station and the same if bought online at Trainline.

These reduced price/unrestricted tickets do take a bit of tracking down and my advice would be to never try and buy online because you will not get that deal. For instance the national Rail Enquiries website quotes Folkestone – London International (Waterloo for the time being) and a price for a return ticket, unrestricted, £24.30. Type in just waterloo and it will cost you £30.40 but when you onto the Trainline you have got no choice, it is Waterloo or Waterloo East. You can search for London International of just International until you are blue in the face and the price they quote? £43.80 – just over double the special fare!

I have not tried any other routes but if you are planning to use Eurostar from London or Ashford first look at National Rail Enquiries website and then go along to your nearest rail station and buy the tickets there. I was told that you can buy them on the day of travel but would not chance the queues that sometimes form at stations.

Finally, a quick plea for anybody living in Kent & East Sussex, please lobby your local council, MP, local newspapers etc to get behind the campaign to stop Eurostar reducing its services from Ashford International later this year

fatblokeinacardy · 8 September 2010 at 6:49PM

A quick phone call to Bob in the Ashford office re Eurostar domestic fares and with the CIV the price of GWR + tube from Didcot to St P dropped from £26 pp each way to only £8. That's a saving of £32 each which meant we could eat while in France.
It's quick & easy, although you might not get through first try. Very friendly staff appear to enjoy helping you save money. Another advantage is that domestic seats are reserved too. Remember to leave enough time for the tickets to reach you by post - 2 days in my case.
I shall use this service every time we go Eurostar. Many thanks to whoever frst posted this item (and Seat61.com).
I wonder what the greatest saving per person gleaned by an MSE follower will turn out to be.

Eurostar Connection Tickets

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