Power outage disrupts most trains to and from Rotterdam

A power failure affecting the railroad near Rotterdam Central Station has forced the cancellation or reduction of passenger train services in to and from that station throughout Wednesday morning and afternoon, Dutch national railway NS said. The problem first started earlier on Wednesday during the morning rush hour, but the situation was largely resolved by 9:30 a.m.

However, the problem returned at 10:45 a.m. when it became clear that excavation work had damaged a power line. Affected passengers include those traveling between Amsterdam Central Station, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam and Breda, as well as those trying to travel between Rotterdam and either Utrecht Central Station, Breukelen, Dordrecht, Leiden, or The Hague.

There was a limited replacement bus service operating between Bergweg in Rotterdam Noord and Horvathweg in Schiedam Centrum.

Train traffic was expected to return to normal at about 2:30 p.m., the NS and infrastructure firm ProRail said in an update. “For now, we recommend using a trip planner before you hit the road,” ProRail stated.

The damaged cable is important for ProRail’s electronic safety system, the company told ANP and NOS. “That is the system that ensures that we can see where each train is running at what time. We need that for safe train traffic,” a spokesperson told ANP.