Snow: Worst Wednesday morning rush hour in years; Switch failures on many train routes
Despite the Rijkswaterstaat urging people to work from home due to the snowy weather on Wednesday, traffic quickly piled up on the Dutch roads this morning. By 8:45 a.m., the infrastructure agency reported 704 kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch roads, making this the worst Wednesday morning rush hour since 1999. Meanwhile, several train routes between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht were affected by switch failures, further hindering passenger trains, with service suspended between Rotterdam and Breda.
The Rijkswaterstaat received multiple reports of stationary trucks due to the snowfall and icy roads. There have also been multiple one-sided accidents caused by drivers skidding and losing control of their vehicles.
“Rijkswaterstaat is urging everyone to stay off the roads!” the agency reiterated. “Even if you live in a place where snow isn’t falling yet, stay home. The snow showers are moving further across the country, and soon the entire country will be experiencing heavy snowfall.”
Dutch national railway NS was already operating a reduced timetable on Wednesday due to the expected snow and cold. Over the course of the morning, the passenger rail operator said several of its routes were also affected by track switch failures.
There were far fewer trains running between Utrecht and Rotterdam, between Utrecht and The Hague, and between Amsterdam and Gouda, the NS said. The problem was unlikely to be resolved before noon. Also, there were problems on the rail line connecting Hoofddorp, Schiphol, and Hilversum.
The company also noted problems between Alphen aan den Rijn and Gouda, and between Utrecht and Breukelen, with the hope that these would be resolved. by 10:30 a.m.
The KNMI issued a code orange weather warning for almost the entire country. Only Limburg and the Wadden Islands are covered by a code yellow warning. The meteorological institute expects 1 to 3 centimeters of snow in the coastal areas today. Further inland will see 5 to 10 centimeters, and the Wadden Islands and Limburg can expect 2 to 5 centimeters.
The record for the worst Wednesday morning rush hour is held by 10 February 1999. Then, there were 774 kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch roads, also caused by heavy snow.
