New NS timetable starts Sunday; More trains, Zeeland & Noord-Brabant more accessible

NS’s new timetable starts on Sunday. The Dutch rail company will run more trains on many routes across the country, starting earlier and ending later. The provinces of Zeeland and Noord-Brabant will also be better connected, NS said in a press release on Tuesday.

The train between Zwolle and Roosendaal will continue to Vlissingen once an hour in the new timetable. “Passengers from Zeeland will be able to travel directly to Breda, Tilburg, and beyond once an hour,” NS said. The money for this new connection comes from a government compensation package for failing to build a Marine Corps barracks in Vlissingen.

In other locations, NS is deploying extra trains to improve connections. For example, an extra intercity train will run between Amersfoort and Deventer, also outside peak hours. “This will improve the transfer at Apeldoorn station to Zutphen, as well as the transfer at Deventer station to Zwolle,” the rail company said.

Two extra sprinters will run between Uitgeest and Amsterdam Central Station over the weekend. That means four sprinter trains per hour, instead of two, on this route on Saturday and Sunday. The route between The Hague Central Station and Dordrecht is also getting an extra weekend train. Here, there will be a sprinter running every 15 minutes, instead of every 30 minutes, on Saturdays.

An additional Eurostar will run between Amsterdam and London next year. “With the arrival of a fifth Eurostar and the new U.K. Terminal at the beginning of this year, capacity on the route has significantly increased,” NS said.

The rail company also made changes on many other routes. Almost the entire timetable is affected. NS also warned that there will be challenges on the railway next year. The high-speed line is still subject to speed restrictions, ProRail is planning extensive trackwork next year, and there has been a significant increase in disruptions to the infrastructure.

NS urged travelers to check the travel planner before heading to the station.