Lightning strike halts train services between Amsterdam, Schiphol and Utrecht
A late morning lightning strike brought railroad services to a halt on Wednesday between the central train stations in Utrecht and Amsterdam, the two busiest passenger rail hubs in the Netherlands. Limited service could resume from 1 p.m., with the chance that problems remain into the evening, compounding issues for trains connecting Utrecht with Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Arnhem, Amersfoort, and Gouda.
“We advise passengers, where possible, to postpone their journey or use alternative transport. Please also expect busier trains and longer travel times,” the NS said. An initial statement from the national railway operator suggested the issue could keep trains out of service until 7 p.m. Once trains are up and running, it could still take hours before the timetable is fully restored as trains will need to be brought to various points to restart service.
The incident happened near Utrecht Central Station at about 11 a.m. between utrecht and Breukelen, according to railroad infrastructure management firm ProRail. “The damage caused by the lightning strike is still being investigated. It can only be determined which repairs are necessary after this investigation,” Pro Rail stated.
“As soon as there is more clarity regarding the extent of the damage, a forecast will follow for when train traffic can be resumed.” Additionally, trains are not running between Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn and Driebergen-Zeist.
Utrecht’s central location makes the city a critical link on routes between many cities and regions in the country. Until the issue is resolved, trains will not run between Schiphol Airport and Utrecht.
There were fewer Intercity trains running between Utrecht and the cities of Rotterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, and Amersfoort. Passengers on these routes were advised to take into account the need for extra time to complete their journeys.
“Multiple switches are malfunctioning at the Kijfhoek freight yard in the municipality of Zwijndrecht. This is also most likely caused by a lightning strike at the power supply,” ProRail wrote.
“Our contractor is on site to resolve the outage as quickly as possible. This means that train traffic is not possible from Kijfhoek to the Port of Rotterdam.”
An average workday last year saw nearly 242,000 passengers travel to or from Utrecht Central Station, including those who changed trains there. Some 168,500 passengers utilize Amsterdam Central Station every workday, and over 91,000 travel to, from, or via the Schiphol Airport rail station. Roughly 108,500 use Rotterdam Central Station, and 80,000 use The Hague Central Station daily.
