This is Thalys - the high-speed train that connects some of western Europe's biggest
cities. Today I'll be riding through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in Thalys' most
expensive PREMIUM Class. With such important international routes, you'd expect this service
to be top-notch, but instead I was faced with one disappointment after another.
Join me on this nightmare journey, as I show you why NOT to ride Thalys high-speed.
Hello and welcome back to another video, today I'm just outside Disneyland Resort Paris,
and I'm going to be catching the Thalys train here from Disneyland up to Rotterdam. I'm going
to be travelling in Thalys Premium Class, which is their highest class offering, so let's go!
Welcome to Marne-la-Vallée in France, a high-speed station roughly 30km east of Paris.
The station is probably best known for providing
access to the Disneyland resort, which it is remarkably close to.
And I really do mean close,
with it being just a one minute walk from the station to the park's ticket gates.
My favourite thing about this station has to be the entrance though,
which is carefully designed to resemble a castle.
I'm sure there are better castles nearby, but I thought this was a nice touch.
Anyway, let's head inside. Here you can find a few staple food and drink outlets,
wth a selection of vending machines too.
Marne-la-Vallée is a station of two halves. One of these is the RER section,
which connects the station to central Paris in just over 30 mintues.
My train will be departing from the TGV section of the station, which is certainly labyrynthian
in nature, with stairs, escalators, and bridges running all over the main hall.
The concourse is often rather busy, so if you do want to get away from it all,
then be sure to head up the stairs to a quieter waiting area.
This also lets in a bit more light than the rather dark lower-level, thanks to a glass roof.
So my train today is Thalys number 9963,
the 16:04 to Amsterdam Centraal, which I'll be catching as far as Rotterdam.
But what exactly is Thalys anyway? The story goes back to 1996,
with the launch of a new high-speed service on the Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam route.
The French national railway owned 70%, while Belgium's took 30%.
In 2007, the German national railway, DB, bought a 10% stake - quickly selling it again in 2013.
Finally, in 2022 the service was merged with another international high-speed
company, already serving many of the same destinations - Eurostar.
The Thalys route map is based around the Paris to Brussels high-speed line,
with most trains then continuing to Amsterdam or the west of Germany.
Some trains serve Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport and Disneyland instead of the centre,
and seasonally one train continues to the south of France or the alps.
My train is already waiting, so let's head on down.
I'm travelling in Thalys Premium today, which normally includes lounge access.
However, due to receiving a limited service, there was no lounge here.
My train is departing from platform 5 today - this is
best accessed via escalator, with lifts available too.
As you can see from this angle, the station really is full of intertwined
stairs and bridges, so make sure to go to your platform in plenty of time.
So here's my train, and doesn't it just look great in the Thalys livery?
I really love the dark red and metallic design, it certainly looks like a premium product!
Thalys operate two types of very similar train, totalling 26 units in all.
This is one of their PBA fleet, which is used on routes in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
They also have a fleet of PBKA trains, which can additionally operate into Germany.
Personally, I prefer the angled design of the PBA units, but both fleets are capable of an
impressive 300km/h (186mph). We'll be taking full advantage of that speed later on in the video!
For now though, I'll head to my seat. I'll be travelling in Coach 31,
situated at the front of the train today.
Premium is in a 2+1 layout, seats mostly in airline style, with a few tables throughout.
I'll be sitting in seat 41, a rear facing solo seat.
Today's route will see us heading north across the Belgian border,
before serving the country's capital. We'll then continue north to cross into the Netherlands,
and along the high-speed line into Rotterdam. The trip is scheduled to
take two hours and 58 minutes to cover the 459 kilometres, or about 285 miles.
We depart Marne-la-Vallée on-time, at 16:04 as we begin our trip.
With the station sitting on a high-speed line,
it doesn't take long before we're able to start gathering speed.
This route is the LGV Interconnexion, opened in 1994 with the intention of
allowing TGV services to operate between the north and south of France while avoiding Paris.
Barely five minutes after the journey commences,
we're already cruising along at maximum speed - 300km/h (186mph).
Now I'm sure you want to see what made this journey so terrible,
but that will have to wait for now, as we're already arriving at our first stop!
Just 15 minutes away from Marne-la-Vallée is Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport. This
station has an interesting feature, as you can book combined flight tickets
which allow a connection to Brussels or various French destinations by rail.
A TGV pulls in beside us, and eagle-eyed viewers may notice just how similar it
looks to our Thalys train. Well, this is because the Thalys fleet are based on the TGV design,
fitted with extra systems to allow international service.
As we're back on the move, it's time to take a look around the interior here in Thalys Premium.
Let's start off with the seats. As I mentioned earlier, these are in a 2+1 layout.
I often hear a lot of praise about these seats, and I can definitely agree!
They were really well padded, which made for a comfortable journey.
The wide headrest was also sporting a generously padded and soft cushion.
All seats have a pair of well padded adjustable armrests.
As for legroom, I was honestly disappointed. Whilst it wasn't
massively tight, I've been on a lot of First Class train rides with a
lot more legroom...even Second Class on some trains is better than this.
Down here you can find a folding footrest, which is always nice to have.
Sadly, mine was broken. This meant it just got in the way of what is already limited legroom.
On the seat in front, you can find a folding table.
This was a large surface, and would be a decent amount of space for working on.
Attached to the seat you can also find a small metal bar,
which I presume is for holding a drink in place.
There's also a strap, and I really don't know what this is for.
You can put your phone in it, but then you just won't be able to see most of your phone screen.
If you know what it's for, then please let me know in the comments!
Mounted on the wall, you can find a smaller table, which is ideal for a drink or your phone.
This is also where you will find the seat's European-style power socket.
Lastly, there's meant to be a small bin in here,
however the handle to mine was completely broken, so I couldn't use it.
Beside the seat is the control panel. This
features the button for the individual reading light.
Motorised recline buttons can also be found here...though mine seemed to be struggling a bit.
In fact, a fellow passenger's seat seemed to be reclining all by itself.
By now, you may have noticed that this interior is in pretty poor condition,
with numerous broken parts and generally being unclean.
I definitely wouldn't have wanted to sit at this table with the flickering lamp...
This was really disappointing, as the Thalys brand has the potential
to be so stylish - just look at the interior of the trains!
Anyway, following the poor condition of the interior, I was looking forward to my
complimentary meal service. This is one of the benefits for passengers travelling in Premium.
Sadly, there was only bad news here too,
with no service provided until Brussels due to a shortage of staff.
With little else to do, I decided to go for a look around the rest of the train.
This is Comfort Class, which features an identical layout to Premium Class,
just without the complimentary service. Though I guess on this journey, there was no difference...
Through here is the on-board bar, and I love the double window design
and plenty of standing room that helps to make it a light and spacious area.
The design under the counter which shows tourist attractions in the
cities along Thalys' route was a welcome touch too.
Much like in Premium though, no service was provided here.
I could still get a look at the menu, and there was a good selection on offer,
despite the prices being high...even for a train.
It's also possible to buy local transport tickets for Paris, Brussels, Rotterdam,
Amsterdam, Aachen and Köln from here, when the bar is actually open that
is. This would allow you to skip the ticket machine queue when you arrive.
At this point, we actually cross the border between France and Belgium.
This is done effortlessly at our maximum speed of 300km/h (186mph), and you can barely even tell.
A few minutes out of Brussels,
we leave the high-speed line to join the classic route into the Belgian capital.
We pass Vorst-Zuid station, which is also the site of a major high-speed train depot.
This caters to TGV, Thalys, and Eurostar trains, so it's quite the important international hub!
The main station here is Brussels South, which sees a service to all of the major destinations
throughout the country. On top of this, there are international routes to six different countries,
including the Nightjet sleeper train to Wien and Innsbruck.
Despite being the country's capital, it's actually only the fifth largest
city in the country by population, coming in at just 190,000 residents.
Needless to say, I was looking forward to the stop
here! Hopefully the on-board meal will be served soon.
After an extended twenty minute stop in Brussels,
the train is back on the move, as we now head towards Antwerp and the Netherlands.
The route in the centre of the capital is actually quite interesting,
as you get to see many of its buildings on your way through.
This is Brussels-Chapel station, one of the stations on this very busy railway. Despite this,
the station sees only a single train stop per hour in the week and no service at all on weekends!
As we headed north through Belgium, I heard an announcement that I really didn't want to hear.
[We would like also to inform you that there will be no service in First Class Premium.]
It seems that they were unable to supply a staff member for catering in Brussels,
which means I won't be getting a meal at all on this journey.
However, not all was lost!
Soon after this announcement, somebody came through with a special complimentary treat.
A 33cl bottle of water.
Now I can't help but be disappointed with Thalys here. I paid extra for the ticket
that included what they describe as a 'gourmet meal', and ended up with a very small drink.
Anyway, a station soon comes by to distract me from my hunger.
This is Antwerpen-Centraal. You can't quite see it here,
but this is an incredible station building that is often rated as one of the best in the world.
And taking just one look at the exterior, it's very easy to see why!
It's not just this, the platforms here are split across three levels,
with six under the incredible canopy, four found beneath the shopping area
with ticket office, and finally four through platforms at the very bottom.
After a few minutes we're on the move again,
as we work our way out of the very deep tunnel through the city of Antwerp.
The remainder of the trip will be on high-speed line,
running once again at up to 300km/h (186mph).
We're now in the Netherlands, the third and final country for today's trip. Whilst the border
crossing is unnoticeable, the change in landscape certainly isn't. Just look at how flat it is!
With the journey nearly over, let's take a look around what else you can find in Thalys Premium.
First up is the so-called WiFi+, the special high-speed connection reserved
for passengers in Comfort and Premium carriages.
This was easy to connect to, though the speeds weren't the best I've seen.
I was certainly struggling to be 'positive' about this WiFi!
All windows have sunblinds, as shown here.
For luggage, there are sizable overhead luggage racks,
with luggage stacks found in the vestibules.
Each carriage has at least one toilet, located by the doors.
Now, fairly predictably, things were falling apart in here too.
Luckily, there was plenty of soap in stock, and the water was working fine too.
A hand dryer is also provided.
Interestingly, there was a sign in here that claims Thalys are doing everything
they can to try and keep the toilets clean. To be honest, they've done a good job here!
Oh by the way, the end of the carriage features this exclusive compartment,
containing four posh leather seats around a large table. I don't know how exactly
you book tickets for this area, so if you know, then please tell me in the comments!
As our ride is nearly over, it's time to go through the price of today's journey.
For this trip, I bought a youth ticket. This has a varying discount depending
on the route, but for this one it was about 25%.
This cost me €90, as I booked nearly three months in advance.
Whilst this is good value for money for a long-distance high-speed trip,
I would rather have selected a cheaper fare,
as my Premium ticket was pretty much the same experience as the lower classes.
Now to be fair to Thalys here, their staff were fantastically helpful and
apologetic about the poor service, and even issued a goodwill voucher of €20!
But overall, I was left feeling disappointed with my experience today.
The train was in a really poor condition, and the on-board service was not in existence.
At the time of editing, Thalys has just started rolling out its refurbished interior on these
trains, with the bar area removed and more seats fitted. Biggest of all, a total interior redesign.
Until that's complete though, I really cannot recommend Thalys due to the poor quality of it
all. Where possible, I'll always try to take alternative rail services.
Anyway, we arrive into Rotterdam Centraal three minutes ahead of schedule, at 18:59.
As always, let me know what you thought of Thalys Premium in the comments, and for a video aboard
one of the UNIQUE looking trains here in the Netherlands, then click up here now.