Eurostar’s direct Amsterdam-London service will launch in October

Tickets will go on sale on 1 September

The Amsterdam-London direct service is finally launching (iStock)

Eurostar has finally confirmed that the launch date for its Amsterdam-London direct service will be 26 October, with tickets going on sale on 1 September.

It means the journey will now be direct for both directions of travel for the first time.

The rail operator has been operating direct services from London to the Dutch capital since 2018.

However, due to red tape, passengers couldn’t go through border control in the Netherlands.

Instead, it meant they had to make their return trip on a Thalys service via Brussels Midi to get their passports checked at the Belgian border control, before swapping trains to continue their journey with Eurostar.

In July, a treaty signed in Brussels by France, Belgium and the Netherlands finally allowed UK Border Force staff to be stationed in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, making the direct service possible.

Eurostar said that fares will start from £40 each way, with a journey time of 4h 9m from Amsterdam, or 3h 29m from Rotterdam.

Tickets are released six months in advance, which means from next week, passengers can book travel for up to February 2021.

For all journeys booked before 31 December, passengers can exchange fares without paying a fee up to 14 days before travel.

The FCO currently advises against non-essential travel to the Netherlands due to increased coronavirus infection rates.

The Amsterdam-London direct route had previously been slated for April this year and December 2019 previously, but both deadlines were missed.

The service was also temporarily suspended due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.