Eurostar trains to popular European destination suspended for six months due to station refit
27 November 2023, 14:53 | Updated: 27 November 2023, 14:59
Eurostar trains have been cancelled for six months from Amsterdam to London while a new terminal is built in the Netherlands.
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Dutch Railways (NS) announced they will not be able to process British passengers being carried on trains between the two capitals, via Rotterdam, while new facilities are built at Centraal station.
The NS project will demolish existing infrastructure where British passengers’ passports are currently checked.
During the refurbishment, Eurostar trains will run empty from Amsterdam to Brussels, where London-bound passengers will be able to board.
Read more: Company aiming to compete with Channel Tunnel operator Eurostar to buy 12 trains
The shocking announcement will see NS temporarily halt the rapidly growing service from June 2024 until 2025.
Over 1.6 million passengers have travelled between London and the Netherlands since the inaugural Eurostar train left St. Pancras International Station in 2018.
Since Brexit, though, extra passport checks have, at times, limited the number of passengers being processed from St. Pancras. Since October, though, full trains have resumed.
NS said the cancellations were “very disappointing”.
In a statement, they said: “We have worked hard in recent years to make the Eurostar to London an attractive alternative to the plane. It is a particularly difficult puzzle to solve.
“If there had been a simple solution, all parties would have seized it with both hands.
"Unfortunately, after various investigations, that simple solution appears not to exist.”
Read more: Eurostar passengers can avoid UK passport checks by having faces scanned
The new terminal, scheduled to open in January 2025, is expected to significantly improve the direct Amsterdam-London travel experience, trying to offer a more attractive alternative to air travel.
In June, Eurostar ended its service to Disneyland Paris, focusing on its core routes to Paris and Brussels instead.
