Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Ghent, Belgium.
Journey Time: from 2 hours 35 mins
Sample timetable: Depart London 11.04pm, arrive Ghent 2.56pm
Changes: 1
Transfer: Quick same-station change of platform within Brussels Midi station
Frequency of Departures: 18/day
Carbon emissions: 9.5kg (flight would be 116.8kg)*
Train tickets provided by Trainline:
What's the journey like?
Take the Eurostar to Brussels Midi station where there's an easy same-station platform change to board the intercity train to Bruges. Keep an eye out on the platform at Brussels for the handy guide to the layout of incoming trains, which shows you where your carriage will arrive into the station so you can make your way to the correct part of the platform before the train arrives.
Stopover hotels to break the journey in Brussels
If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Brussels while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near Brussels Midi. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently nearby: Hotels near Brussels Midi
On arrival
Welkom in Gent! Ghent has two main train stations: most international trains arrive at Gent-Sint-Pieters, in the south of the city, a ten minute tram ride (line one) from the heart of the city; however some services arrive at Gent-Dampoort, which is a few minutes’ stroll to the north-east of the city centre.
Hotels near Ghent train station (Gent-Sint-Pieters)
The historic heart of Ghent is almost entirely pedestrian, fairly compact and very flat: walking is a fantastic option for getting around, and one of the best ways to take in the historic architecture. If you do need to make a longer journey – or are feeling tired – the city has a great integrated tram and bus system, run by De Lijn, whose site includes a journey planner and a map of the Ghent transport network. If you buy your tickets from a machine, a single trip costs 1,20€, or 2,00€ if you buy on board the bus or tram. Multi-trip tickets, which offer a discounted total price and can also be used in some other Belgian cities, are available too: for more information see De Lijn’s tickets and fares page. If you intend to visit some of the city’s major sites, and will be using public transport a lot, it might be worth getting a CityCard Gent: it offers unlimited travel plus entry to many of the main attractions for 48 or 72 hours.
Ghent’s flat, largely traffic-free nature means cycling can also be a good option for getting around: the city’s tourist board offers a list of recommended cycle hire providers in Ghent.
Bon Voyage!
For more overland routes by train to Belgium, see our Flight-Free Journey Planner