The direct Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains to be cancelled for six months
The Eurostar for Amsterdam-Rotterdam-London is to close from June 24 for six months.
Dutch Railways (NS) has made a shocking announcement regarding the trains from Amsterdam and Rotterdam-London. They have said that the trains will not be running for six months from June 2024 to January 2025.
They have said that passengers wishing to travel from London will be able to go to both Dutch cities but for the return journey the trains will run empty and pick up passengers at Brussels.
Passengers have become confused with the news, but according to Dutch Railways (NS) the reason passengers will be affected on their return journey is due to the refurbishment at Centraal Station in Amsterdam.
A spokesman for Dutch Railways (NS) has said there is not enough space at the station to process London-bound passengers due to Post-Brexit procedures for Britons and that’s why passengers travelling from Amsterdam or Rotterdam to London will have to change at Brussels.”
An NS statement read:
“Unfortunately, we have had to conclude that despite all efforts, there will be a period in which there will be no direct train to London from Amsterdam. That period is expected to be six months (approximately June 2024–January 2025).
“That is very disappointing because we have worked hard in recent years to make the Eurostar to London an attractive alternative to the plane. It is a particularly difficult puzzle to solve. If there had been a simple solution, all parties would have seized it with both hands. Unfortunately, after various investigations, that simple solution appears not to exist.
“We have jointly chosen to take a step back in the second half of 2024 and not run a Eurostar directly to London for a while.
“The new, large terminal will be ready from January 2025, and we will have the opportunity to allow many more travellers to travel directly from Amsterdam to London. In this way we make Eurostar an even more attractive alternative to the plane for many more travellers.”
Gwendoline Cazenave, chief executive of Eurostar Group, said:“Eurostar has always aimed to find a solution that would have the least possible impact on customers, the environment and its business. We acknowledge that a final decision has been made.
“We are pleased that the discussions have shortened the gap in services between Amsterdam and London from 12 to six months and we continue to work on reducing the inconvenience for passengers, local residents and the economy of Amsterdam and surrounding areas.
“|t is very important that all the parties involved are responsible and supportive of each other to meet the deadlines.
“Our focus must now turn to how we can offer the best experience and journey connections for Eurostar customers in this period. As part of this work, we will still run services directly between London and Amsterdam one way as a minimum.”
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