Large employers insist workers take trains, not planes, for business trips to London

A group of large employers in the Netherlands want all business travel to London to be carried out by train by the end of this decade. For this, more journeys must be added to the timetable, said the seventy large companies. They have united under the name, Coalitie Anders Reizen, which translates to the Coalition for Different Travel.

Currently, there are four daily Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to London. However, the two cities are connected daily by between 40 and 50 flights.

The train times are also not ideal, according to the companies, which includes ABN Amro, Shell, ING and Philips. The first train arrives in Amsterdam daily closer to the start of the work day, while the last train to London gets in nearer to the end of the office hours.

The hours are far more inconvenient for those wanting to travel to London earlier in the day, or arrive in Amsterdam in the evening. The proposition seems to be more targeted at the English market and not at the Dutch market, Coalitie Anders Reizen concluded.

Business travellers are willing to take the train instead of the plane, according to the coalition. The trains to Paris and Frankfurt have proven that, the group said. They are already popular for working visits.