This article is classified "Real"
The Thalys is the red version of the Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV), the
French high velocity train [1] which typically cruises at about 300
kilometres an hour. Thalys doesn't reach this speed in the Netherlands and
Belgium [2], where the railway tracks are still too bent and crooked to
service this train correctly. Still, with respect to the old trains, almost
an hour is gained in France, making the transit between Amsterdam and Paris
last four hours and three quarters [3]. On the way it stops at:
1) Amsterdam
2) Schiphol Airport
3) The Hague (Den Haag, Hollands Spoor)
4) Rotterdam
5) Antwerp (Antwerpen, Berchem)
6) Brussels
7) Paris (Gare du Nord)
A track linking Paris to Koln is being constructed.
Inside Thalys it is both more and less comfortable than expected. The seats
are much like in airplanes: cramped and with a retractable table. For tall
people there is hardly any space for the legs. The seats, however are
comfortably soft. There is an (expensive) bar carriage where you can buy
drinks and food using either Belgian, French or Dutch currency.
About TGVs: the high velocity itself is hardly noticeable. The ride is
very smooth and there is hardly any noise [4]. Only by looking outside at
objects passing by closely will you notice how fast you are going, and
sometimes also pressure on your bottom alerts you to rapid ascents.
Important Tips
==============
Four trains make this route per day [5], and reservations for the special
Thalys tickets [6] are obligatory. The whole one way trip will then cost
you 132 guilders, but it is cheaper during weekends and for seniors and
children. Also, taking the risk of no refund when you should need to
cancel, you can book a return trip (2nd class, of course) for the same
amount as a one way ticket!
If there are large delays or you are blessed with annoying personnel, you
may be able to get some of your money back.
[1] The Eurostar, which connects France (Paris) to England (London Waterloo)
via the Channel Tunnel, is also a TGV. You may have seen an incorrect
version (blue instead of yellow etc.) of it in "Mission Impossible", the
movie with Tom Cruise. Or on the news, when a truck caught fire whilst
being transported through the channel tunnel, November 1996. Repairs to
the tunnel would prevent the train from running for several weeks.
[2] OK, so maybe it does go that fast from Antoing, Belgium, big deal. But
when more construction work is finished, it can go up to spead 15 km
after Brussels.
[3] In the nineteenth century, by steam engine, this was 18 hours. After
constructing a special track, it should only take three hours and ten
minutes for Thalys to conclude a trip.
[4] Except if you have noisy passengers, of course. With respect to the
background noise, it is easier to sleep here than in a plane.
[5] There are also 9 other Thalys trains, which only service between Paris
and Brussels.
[6] Interrailers only need to pay a supplement of 21 guilders.