Wednesday rail strike will seriously impact many more Dutch cities than just Amsterdam

The consequences of the strike at ProRail traffic control posts in Amsterdam and Alkmaar on Wednesday morning will be even greater than NS previously reported. The carrier announced on Tuesday that the “impact area” has been expanded and that fewer trains will also run between Utrecht Centraal and the central stations in both Eindhoven and Arnhem.

Routes involving Rotterdam Centraal and Leiden Centraal will also face disruptions. On Monday, the national railway already announced that no train traffic will be able to operate across the whole of Noord-Holland and parts of Utrecht and Flevoland on Wednesday morning due to the strike.

However, many rail workers are based in Den Helder at the northern end of Noord-Holland, where trains will not be running, the NS noted. Trains that run from Den Helder to Maastricht via Utrecht cannot depart, and thus the trains normally running from Utrecht towards the Limburg city will not be operational during the strike. Train service in Nijmegen will be similarly impacted, the NS said on Tuesday.

The strike will also limit international train traffic, and accessibility to Schiphol Airport. The airport will only be able to be reached during the strike by using one of four trains running per hour between Amsterdam Centraal and the airport, though these are expected to be busy.

Typically, many trains run via Utrecht and Leiden, but they won’t be able to due to the strike ”That means that they would have to turn around at Utrecht Central and Leiden Central stations, but there is no space for that," the carrier explained. “That is why NS is forced to run fewer trains on these routes as well.”

The NS also expects delays and cancelations after the strike, “because starting up the timetable takes time.” ProRail workers will strike from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday for a higher wage increase in their collective bargaining agreement. Another strike is scheduled for Friday.

Dutch travel association ANWB is expecting significant traffic jams in the Randstad region during the strikes. “There will undoubtedly be a lot of people who are certainly not going to be traveling by train tomorrow and will not be taking the risk of gambling on whether the train will be running,” a spokesperson of ANWB’s traffic information said.

One of the roads that is expected to be very busy is the A9, which goes straight through Noord-Holland. “That road is always busy, but people from Alkmaar will also travel by car tomorrow,” said the ANWB spokesperson. Other roads were also mentioned with regard to traffic jams. “The A7 from Hoorn and Purmerend, where many commuters also live. They will now also take the car.”

The ANWB is advising drivers to leave their homes earlier and to keep an eye on the latest traffic information. According to ANWB, the Wednesday morning rush hour is usually quieter compared to Tuesday or Thursday morning. On average, there is usually around 400 kilometers of traffic during Wednesday morning rush hour periods.