Qbuzz planning trains between Amsterdam and Paris & Berlin to compete with NS, Thalys

Qbuzz wants to run international trains from Amsterdam to Berlin and Paris from January 2027. The company has submitted applications to do so to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). If approved, Qbuzz would compete against NS and Thalys on those routes.

The Dutch government previously said it planned to make the international rail connections part of the main rail network unless other transport companies signaled interest or intent for those routes by the end of June. Qbuzz is the second company to do so in a week. Arriva submitted plans for a train between Groningen and Paris last week.

If the ACM approves Qbuzz’s applications, the company wants to run trains to Berlin and Paris seven times per day. The company is still figuring out whether it wants to run the Amsterdam-Berlin train via Hengelo or Arnhem.

The public transport company, a subsidiary of the Italian railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, also wants to run trains between Amsterdam and Eindhoven. The government plans to again award NS the concession for the main rail network, allowing the Dutch Railways to operate the most important connections after 2025 when the current concession ends.

Qbuzz appealed to the European Union’s open access rules for the railways. According to the carrier, the court in The Hague ruled in April that the State Secretary must at least do a market analysis to see whether train connections need financial support from the government or can be handed over to market parties. “With the results of this investigation, the size of the possible concession can be determined,” Qbuzz said in a press release.

On the Amsterdam-Eindhoven route, Qbuzz is aiming for a train every 30 minutes. The company set 200 million euros aside for that project.

In March, Qbuzz applied to run a night train between Dordrecht and Utrecht Central Station from December 2024. The ACM recently approved that application. According to Qbuzz director Gerrit Spijksma, that approval “is a confirmation that more competition on the railways is possible.”