Eurostar threatens to withdraw from the Netherlands

Eurostar, the operator of high-speed trains connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, threatens to stop running trains in the Netherlands by 2025. “Without access to necessary infrastructure, connections to London and Paris will be suspended,” said Eurostar chief Gwendoline Cazenave.

In an opinion piece in the Dutch business newspaper ‘Het Financieele Dagblad’, Cazenave stated that “the deterioration of the Dutch rail infrastructure is causing increasing reliability problems, capacity constraints, and frustrating delays for passengers.”

Platform not long enough

For example, Eurostar trains have only been allowed to travel 80 km/hour instead of 160 km/hour on particular stretches for several months. Due to the renovation of Amsterdam Central Station, there is also no direct connection from Amsterdam to London, so passengers heading to the United Kingdom must change trains in Brussels for passport control.

But even after that, in the spring of 2025, capacity restrictions would still apply. After all, available platforms would only be 200 meters long, while Eurostar trains are 400 meters long.

“Without clarity on the Dutch rail network and guaranteed access to the necessary infrastructure, Eurostar will be forced to suspend connections from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London and Paris during 2025,” Cazenave writes. The Netherlands is connected to both cities via Brussels.

Talks drag on

According to a Eurostar spokesman, a decision will be made soon. “That depends on how the talks go with stakeholders such as the government, the Dutch rail network manager Prorail, and railroad company NS. Those talks have been going on for a while, by the way.”

In April, the Dutch parliament also questioned the problems on the Dutch high-speed railway line. The breakdowns are so frequent that NS falls below the minimum standard stipulated in the concession or contract with the Dutch Ministry of Waterways and Infrastructure (Rijkswaterstaat).

In 2023, 4,2 million passengers traveled by Eurostar between the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium. French railroad company SNCF Voyageurs largely owns Eurostar, but Belgian railroad company NMBS/SNCB also has a stake.

A new Dutch carrier, Heuro, wants to offer daily train trips to London and Paris starting in 2028. They want to run several times a day and offer cheaper tickets. And depart not only from Amsterdam, but also from Groningen, up in the north.