Rail workers start rush hour strike affecting passenger trains in most Dutch cities
Many commuters are expected to be inconvenienced by railroad worker strikes in the Netherlands on Wednesday morning. The three-hour strike was scheduled to begin at 6 a.m., and was expected to affect service in all of Noord-Holland, including Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, and Alkmaar, but also a much wider area due to the importance of the region to the national passenger rail network.
Schiphol Airport will only be accessible by one of four trains operating hourly between the airport and Amsterdam Centraal until the strike has ended, but the trains were predicted to be crowded. In addition to Amsterdam and Alkmaar, the central stations in Utrecht, Rotterdam, Leiden, Eindhoven, and Arnhem are expected to face disruptions, as well as elsewhere in the provinces of Utrecht and Flevoland.
The strike by workers at the rail traffic posts in Amsterdam and Alkmaar also means that train conductors and engineers based in Den Helder may be able to get to their scheduled routes. Additionally, trains that originate or end in Noord-Holland, such as those from Den Helder to Utrecht, Maastricht and Nijmegen, will not operate. The NS said these trains cannot simply end at a midpoint because there is no space for drivers to turn the trains around.
Many international trains were also expected to face delays or cancellations. "There will also not be any trains between Leiden, Schiphol, and Haarlem. No train traffic is possible on the High-Speed Line (HSL) between Rotterdam, Schiphol, and Amsterdam," the NS wrote in a statement.
Although the strike will end at 9 a.m., scheduled service is expected to be impacted the rest of the morning, and possibly into the afternoon. Train passengers were advised to check their train operator's online travel planner, said national railway NS.
Delays are also expected for people traveling by car, because the strike will likely lead to significant traffic jams. 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 a spokesperson for Dutch travel association ANWB. The A7 between Hoorn and Purmerend could also be prone to traffic jams, even though Wednesday morning rush hours are usually mild on the roadways.
The strike by ProRail workers is primarily over pay raises for the upcoming period. The FNV labor union wants a 15-percent increase for the lowest wage earners, and a 10 percent increase for the middle-income earners. Railroad infrastructure firm offered a final pay raise of 5.2 percent on average, with those earning the least getting a 7.9 percent increase.
Two other unions already agreed to ProRail's final offer for their collective bargaining agreement. That said, another strike is scheduled for Friday.
