Schiphol train traffic stopped by copper theft

Train traffic to Schiphol has come to a near stand still after copper thieves wreaked havoc on the track between the airport and stations at Amsterdam Zuid and Amsterdam Lelylaan. ProRail announced they may need all day to fix the damage, and the train schedule in the busy network is in chaos. Schiphol cannot for the time being be reached from Amsterdam, Utrecht, Alkmaar and Haarlem. The airport is only reachable from the South, through Leiden or Rotterdam. The copper thieves cut through electricity wires, which caught on fire. Because of this, there is hefty damage over dozens of meters of track. Police are looking for culprits. Reparation to the cables started last night, but may take several more hours. The NS expects that there will at least be no trains between Schiphol and Amsterdam Lelylaan and Amsterdam Zuid until 2 p.m. Other connections will have fewer trains. There will be replacement bus services between the stations for affected passengers. These people are advised to take into account a longer journey. People can also travel on the Amsterdam metro with their train card. This is open for passengers between Amsterdam Sloterdijk, Lelylaan and Amsterdam Zuid.