No trains between Utrecht and Almere due to staff shortage

There will be no trains between Utrecht Central and Almere Centrum on Saturday until 7:30 p.m. due to a staff shortage. Travelers between Almere and Utrecht can make a detour via Weesp, a spokesperson for the NS said. Between Groningen and Veendam, no train traffic is possible all day due to a lack of staff.

The NS previously announced that fewer trains would run on Saturday because there is not enough manpower. Fewer Intercity trains are running on the Rotterdam-Utrecht, Alkmaar-Maastricht and Schiphol-Nijmegen routes. There are also fewer sprinters available between Driebergen-Zeist and Uitgeest. The extra travel time can be up to 15 minutes. The NS calls on travelers to plan their train journey carefully to avoid delays.

According to the NS, from Monday there will be fewer trains between Rotterdam, Schiphol and Arnhem due to staff shortages. The NS is not only short of drivers and conductors, but also IT staff, mechanics, safety and service employees and shop staff at the stations. The railways are struggling with about 1,100 vacancies.

State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Infrastructure) previously made it clear to the Tweede Kamer that the shortages may persist for a longer period of time, even after the summer.