Extra public transport to beaches this weekend as summer weather hits

Due to the hot weather expected in the Netherlands this weekend, public transport companies are running more trains and trams toward the beaches. Meteorological institute KNMI expects thermometers to hit 30 degrees in parts of the Netherlands every day this weekend.

NS will run extra trains between Haarlem and Zandvoort and between Amsterdam and Zandvoort between 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. “As soon as it becomes well above 20 degrees, we see if we can use extra trains,” an NS spokesperson told NOS. “We only do that if it is really necessary given the shortage of our staff. We deploy the most trains and staff where we expect the most travelers.”

This weekend that is on the routes to Zandvoort. NS urged travelers not to take the direct train to Zandvoort via Amsterdam but to travel through Haarlem. “Then you have the best chance of a seat. The travel time is about the same, but the travel comfort is a lot better,” the spokesperson told the broadcaster.

The Hague public transport company HTM will run the Strandexpress on Saturday and Sunday. The special tram from Den Haag Hollands Spoor station runs to the beach of Scheveningen. Rotterdam’s RET will run extra metros to the recently opened station at Hoek van Holland beach on Saturday and Sunday.

Connexxion can’t run extra buses toward the coast due to staff shortages, a spokesperson told NOS.

The KNMI expects hot summer weather this weekend, with lots of room for sunshine and temperatures climbing to the mid-twenties and low thirties. Friday will see some clouds forming in the afternoon, with a slight chance of rain in the east. Maximums will range between 22 degrees on the Wadden and 30 in the south. The easterly wind will be moderate and strong on the coast and IJsselmeer.

Saturday and Sunday will look much the same. The hot weather will last through next week, the KNMI expects. “Warm to very warm with summery, sometimes tropical temperatures in the south,” the meteorological institute said. “It remains sunny and dry in most places.”

The hot, dry, and windy weather has the fire departments on high alert for wildfires. The security regions have banned open fires in almost all of the Netherlands’ nature reserves.