The 7 hour trip to Metz

This month I had to travel to Metz and decided to book the trip by train from Utrecht. The other option was to fly from the Netherlands to Luxembourg and take the train across the border to Metz, France. I’m happy to say the 7-hour journey by train went great. There were a few minutes of delay in places but the transfer times between trains were enough of a buffer.

A breakdown of the trip; Utrecht Centraal 🇳🇱 - Maastricht 🇳🇱 - Liége-Guillemins 🇧🇪 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺 - Metz 🇫🇷.

The trip crossed three country borders¹ and worked across four train operators². Utrecht to Luxembourg was booked through NS International, and Luxembourg to Metz was booked through SNCF Connect. NS International was actually able to show the entire trip to Metz but didn’t allow me to book it hence having to use SNCF Connect for the last leg. The Utrecht to Luxembourg section cost €97.20 including the return, and the Luxembourg to Metz section cost €19 also including return. This brought the entire trips total to €116.20.

Booking through NS International went smooth enough and during the trip, the app was also able to provide time and platform updates all the way to Luxembourg which was great. SNCF Connect’s booking experience wasn’t the best, the website was clunky to use. At one point I almost ended up accidentally booking two trips to Metz. It also warned me of track works around Metz during my return and referred me to SNCF Connect for more information which in turn referred me to SNCF Connect again? Not helpful, a direct link or embedding the details in the warning would have been great.

Break down of each train

The first two hours between Utrecht and Maastricht were spent on the NS VIRM, the ‘WiFi in de trein’ wasn’t great but worked to send and receive messages and for some light web browsing. Even though I was not travelling during peak times the train remained relatively full but with enough seating space for everyone. I already know how busy this service gets during peak and glad I wasn’t around for that.

Across the first border to Belgium, I rode the Drielandentrein, something I’ve been looking forward to for a while. The Stadler FLIRT used by Arriva was equiped with power sockets and a tray tables. The train did have WiFi but this didn’t work on the way there or back. I am also happy to report there was no rolling stock or staffing issues today for this service.

Between Belgium and Luxembourg, the almost 3-hour long trip through the mountain-side was operated by SNCB. The Siemens Desiro ML rolling stock are used on this service which lack WiFi and a tray tables. There are areas along the line which also don’t provide good cell reception either. While searching for power outlets, I managed to find only two for each passenger segment which were located overhead, one on either side. If you need them you should situate yourself accordingly. To be fair, there were not a lot of people using this service to travel end-to-end and so it works for shorter trips and on a positive note, the ride did have some scenic mountain views and on both the trip there and back the train was exceptionally clean.

The final part of the journey was roughly 50 minutes from Luxembourg to Metz. The SNCF TER 2N NG double-decker rolling stock (based of the Alstom Coradia Duplex) was spacious enough, although I did see it get very busy during rush hours. The train comes with tray tables and power outlets but no WiFi.

All in all every train on this trip was comfortable and did allow me to get some work done on my laptop albeit using my own 4G connection.

Would I do this again?

Yes, it allows me to travel and still be somewhat productive, not to mention enjoy the views out the window. It’s also the cheaper option at €116.20 euros end to end while a flight from the Netherlands to Luxembourg alone is anywhere between €116 to €152. In terms of time saved by flying, I estimate the end to end time would be roughly 5.5 hours so I’m not saving much there.