Amsterdam-London direct Eurostar train to run again from February with 200 more seats
The direct Eurostar train between Amsterdam and London will resume on February 10th, Eurostar announced on Thursday. The train will also have more capacity, almost doubling the number of people that can get on in the Dutch capital, the Volkskrant reports.
The train service between Amsterdam and London stopped running on June 15 due to major renovations at Amsterdam Central Station. The renovations made it impossible to carry out border controls, needed since the United Kingdom left the European Union, and anyone who wanted to go to London had to change trains in Brussels.
The plan was to start running the Amsterdam-London connection again in January. With a start date of February 10, the return is slightly later than hoped.
Not all work will be completed when the train starts running again, a Eurostar spokesperson told the Volkskrant. But it will be done enough for the Eurostar to increase its capacity.
Eurostar trains have room for 900 passengers, but only 250 could board in Amsterdam. Thanks to the renovations, 450 passengers can board in the Dutch capital from February. And “somewhere in the spring” that will be increased to 650. “Then the work on the terminal will be completed,” the spokesperson said.”
The ticketing systems for both Eurostar and NS International have yet to be updated. Both services only show train services between the Dutch and British capitals with a stop to change trains in Brussels lasting around 50 minutes.
The situation around the Amsterdam CS renovations had Eurostar so frustrated that the company threatened to leave the Netherlands for good. In an opinion piece in the Financieele Dagblad in September, CEO Gwendoline Cazenave demanded guarantees from rail manager ProRail and the other parties involved about resuming the service, or the London connection would not return to the Dutch capital. Cazenave also criticized the speed limits on the high-speed line in the Netherlands, caused by design flaws.
“The accumulation of restrictions is pushing Eurostar off the map in the Netherlands,” Cazenave said. “Without clarity on the Dutch rail network and guaranteed access to the necessary infrastructure, Eurostar is forced to suspend services from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London and Paris in 2025.”
