NS running more and longer trains on King's Day

Dutch national railway NS will operate on a special King's Day timetable on April 27. The special Oranjedienstregeling will include more frequent trains that are also longer than usual. More NS staff will also be working during the national holiday, known locally as Koningsdag, and held annually in celebration of King Willem-Alexander's birthday.

The busiest areas will be the region in and around Amsterdam. Roughly 200,000 people are expected to travel to the capital by train. The city's Centraal Station will be open, but the Amsterdam Science Park and Amsterdam RAI stations will be closed on the day. In addition to Amsterdam, there will also be more trains to Arnhem, Breda, The Hague, Eindhoven, Groningen, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Zwolle.

There will also be more frequent and extended trains in Utrecht, The Hague, and Rotterdam during Koningsnacht, the celebratory evening before King's Day.

The NS has asked asking passengers to make it a fun day so that it is also a nice workday for their staff. This comes after two NS staff members were attacked last week.

Alcohol will be banned on the trains and in the stations from Friday at 7 p.m. to Sunday at 7 a.m. No alcohol will be sold at the stations during that period. The baggage lockers at Amsterdam Centraal Station, Utrecht Centraal Station, Breda, and Eindhoven will also be closed.

Regional transport company Arriva reported that one extra train will run to Emmen, Drenthe per hour. This is where the Royal Family will be spending King's Day. There will be three trains per hour going to Emmen between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., as opposed to the usual two.

The public transport companies in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht recommend that visitors keep up to date with their travel planners. The expected congestion could lead to buses, trams, and other public transport changing times and routes.