Storm Conall rush hour: Early traffic jams, NS changes timetable, More flights scrapped

People in the Netherlands were facing a series of issues on the roads, at train stations, and at Schiphol Airport on Wednesday afternoon with the expectation that Storm Conall was going to make landfall. There were over 660 kilometers of traffic jams on national roadways by 4 p.m., likely to be one of the worst rush hours on a Wednesday this year. Meanwhile, Dutch national railway NS implemented a more limited timetable, while hundreds of flights at Schiphol were delayed or cancelled.

Dutch meteorological service KNMI issued a Code Orange weather warning for the northern half of the country, with gusts of up to 130 kilometers per hour expected in coastal areas. A bit more inland, the wind could peak at 110 km/h in Noord-Holland, Flevoland, Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, and the areas around the Wadden Islands and the IJsselmeer. Wind gusts from 80 to 100 km/h were likely in Zuid-Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland.

Traffic quickly became a mess on the roads

With the wind predicted to pick up by 4 p.m., motorists quickly began to clog the roadways. This was especially the case on the motorways in the Randstad, particularly near the four largest cities in the Netherlands, according to realtime data from travel association ANWB and infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat. The latter had already announced it expected an evening rush hour that would be especially difficult when compared to an average Wednesday.

Slowed and stalled traffic was already piling up on the A9 and A10 around Amsterdam by 3 p.m., and on the A7 in both directions between Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam. The A13 between The Hague and Rotterdam was also clogged up, as well as the A15 eastbound from the Rotterdam Port, and the A16 in both directions between Rotterdam and the Belgium border.

There were also problems on the A12 between The Hague and Utrecht. The A2 was also jammed in both directions between Utrecht and Eindhoven.

Passenger trains limited in Noord-Holland, with some problems between Utrecht and Rotterdam

Meanwhile, the NS announced that it had "somewhat" adapted the passenger rail schedule in the northwest of the Netherlands, where Storm Conall was expected to strike first. Only sprinter trains will run between Zaandam and Alkmaar, and travelers between Amsterdam Central Station and Den Helder will have to change trains in Heerhugowaard, the national railway company reported.

Intercity trains operating between the central stations in Utrecht and Rotterdam were also cancelled from 3:45 p.m. through at least 5:30 p.m. due to a defective train. NS and railroad infrastructure firm ProRail were still examining how to resolve the situation by 4:15 p.m.

Like the country's meteorologists and motorists, the NS also was concerned about extremely heavy wind gusts. "That is why, as a precaution, we are slightly adjusting the timetable from the end of the afternoon in the northwest of the country." They also warned passengers to plan accordingly, by checking the online travel planner shortly before going to a train station.

Nearly 350 flights at Schiphol delayed or cancelled

European air traffic center Eurocontrol issued repeated warnings on Wednesday about the impact Storm Conall was expected to have at Schiphol Airport. The possibility of severely limited capacity and the possible suspension of ground handling services was likely to lead to heavy delays as the storm nears. Airport delays or cancellations could affect about 25 percent from 6 p.m. to midnight, with the possibility that only one runway would remain in operation at various moments during the inclement weather.

Airlines operating at Schiphol Airport cancelled 61 departures, and passengers faced delays on another 169 flights, as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday. A total of 48 arriving flights were also cancelled, with delays hindering 71 others since the start of operations earlier that morning.

Nearly all of the cancellations were announced by Dutch flag carrier KLM, which is the largest airline operating at Schiphol. Most of those were round trip pairs involving other airports in Europe.

There were a few delayed flights at Eindhoven Airport, the country’s second-largest airport. None of the airlines operating there announced cancellations to arriving and departing aircraft by mid-afternoon.