Eurostar transported 18% more passengers between Amsterdam and London in 2025
Passenger numbers from Amsterdam to London surged 18 percent in 2025 after the direct high-speed service resumed in February following temporary transfers through Brussels due to construction at Amsterdam Centraal station. Overall, Eurostar’s high-speed trains carried a record 20 million passengers last year, an increase of 500,000 travelers, or 3 percent, compared with 2024.
The route connecting London, Rotterdam and Amsterdam showed the most substantial growth, the company said on Wednesday. A fifth daily direct train was launched on the line in December.
Eurostar indicated the journey will be a primary focus for its growth plans in the upcoming years. The company said it will continue plans to push to increase passenger figures by 50 percent, though it may miss the target of 30 million ticketed journeys by 2030 as it awaits the launch of its new fleet of trains.
Eurostar will face renewed competition around that time, with Virgin indicating it also wants to run a train service between the Dutch and British capitals using the Channel Tunnel. To stay ahead of the game, Eurostar is planning to offer more options to connect Amsterdam with Swiss destinations, the company announced last summer.
The company will expand its network with 50 new double-deck trains ordered from Alstom in October 2025, which will enter service in 2031. The trains will carry about 20 percent more passengers than the current high-speed fleet and will serve three new routes, including Amsterdam–Brussels–Genève, London–Frankfurt, and London–Genève.
Eurostar currently operates high-speed connections between the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Belgium. From Amsterdam, passengers can travel directly to London or via Brussels to Paris, Cologne, and Dortmund.
"Another year of growth to 20 million passengers only motivates us to do more for our customers in the years to come as we expand, including into new countries as we introduce the new Celestia fleet," said Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave in a statement. The company also welcomed its 400 millionth ticketed passenger, one of two people travelling from London to Amsterdam.
The company said it also showed strong passenger growth of 5.8 percent on trips between London and Brussels, and 10 percent on journeys between London and Germany via Brussels. The route between London and Paris grew by 5.0 percent compared to 2024, a year that was itself bolstered by demand for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Journeys between Brussels and Paris also saw a 3.7 percent increase in demand.
Since its launch in 1994, Eurostar has carried more than 400 million passengers, including travelers from Thalys, which merged with Eurostar recently and whose brand was retired in 2023. Eurostar is majority-owned by France’s SNCF (55.75 percent), with Belgium’s NMBS holding an 18.5 percent stake.
Earlier in mid-December, Dutch rail operator NS reported a 2.9 percent increase in domestic passenger numbers compared with 2024, reaching roughly 95 percent of 2019 levels. Around 90.6 percent of travelers reached their destination with no more than a five-minute delay, slightly up from 89.4 percent in 2024.
