Travel to Amsterdam, Lille and Luxembourg by InterCity train

NS International - Regus Express lounges, situated at Amsterdam Central, Rotterdam Central and Schiphol stations are pleasant relaxing spaces, where you can relax or work whilst waiting for your train. They offer a Wi-Fi connection and meeting rooms.

These lounges can be used by:

• passengers with an international 1^st class ticket to or from the station concerned for the same day;
• members of a lyalty card of any Railteam partner.

Unlike most high-speed trains, InterCity and regional trains in Belgium and the Netherlands do not require a reservation. For these trains, you get an open ticket, valid on board any train on the date shown (at any time of day) and on the route as indicated on your ticket. Great flexibility!

Similarly, on IC and ICE trains run by Deutsche Bahn, seat reservation is optional. Consequently, most tickets for journeys in Germany do not necessarily show the time either. Remember though, that the Supersparpreis, Supersparpreis Europa and Sparpreis Europa economy fares do require you to use the specific train you chose when buying your ticket. In this case, the train number and time of departure are shown on your ticket.

If you're travelling by InterCity train between Belgium and the Netherlands, buy your tickets at least 7 days in advance: the Early Bird fare offers around 40% off for travelling from Monday to Thursday and around 20% off for travelling from Friday to Sunday (depending on the distance). 

If you're travelling between Belgium and Luxembourg, it can be more cost-effective to travel as a group. So for the Escapade fare, which is valid on a return journey between Belgium and Luxembourg, money can be saved by buying two tickets instead of one (with even bigger savings for three people).

If you're travelling between Belgium and Northern France with InterCity and TER Hauts-de-France trains, go for a return trip between Friday morning and Sunday evening: with the Weekend fare, you get 40% off. This Weekend fare applies to journeys to and from: Abbeville, Amiens, Annappes, Arras, Ascq, Aulnoye Aymeries, Baisieux, Béthune, Boulogne Ville, Calais Ville, Chantilly Gouvieux, Compiègne, Croix l'Allumette, Croix Wasquehal, Douai, Dunkerque, Etaples Le Touquet, Hellemmes, Le Cateau, Lens, Lezennes, Lille Flandres, Maubeuge, Noyon, Paris Nord (via Maubeuge/Aulnoye), Pont de Bois, Pont Ste Maxence, Roubaix, St Quentin (Aisne), Tourcoing, Valenciennes.

If you're younger than 26, there's a Youth fare for travelling between Belgium and the same destinations in Northern France. This Youth fare offers 30% off and is valid anytime.

For this type of train, there are no restrictions on the various fares. So you don't need to book ahead to get the best prices.

International season tickets are only available on the Brussels-Lille service (rail passes valid on TGV^® Brussels-France, Thalys and Eurostar).

If you take the same journey regularly on a Thalys train, remember that Thalys offers several ThePass options (Premium or Frequent), which means you benefit from cheaper flexible fares. Check the Thalys website for more information about Thalys ThePass. 

And lastly, we also have railcards as part of our national train service for passengers who frequently take SNCB's InterCity or regional trains to one of our main border destinations - Aachen, Lille, Luxembourg, Maastricht and Roosendaal. Of course, you can combine an SNCB rail card to one of these border cities with a rail pass from another rail company to continue your journey in one of our neighbouring countries.

More information about our railcards to border destinations >

More information about NS railcards from the border to your destination in the Netherlands >