The NS, the Dutch Railway company, have at most a few trains tonight. In the evening rush hour there are no trains at all. The consequences of the storm will also be noticeable tomorrow, the rail company warns.
NS advises travelers to look for an alternative, but does not offer an alternative itself. The company will not use buses, like they normally do, because the bus companies also suffer a lot from the storm. Stations are open for travelers, but that might be the spot you least want to be at.
Those looking for alternative transport can go to social media. Under the hashtag #Stormpoolen some people offer stranded travelers a ride home.
De hashtag voor mensen die een lift zoeken is #StormPoolen! https://t.co/N6KSeA1nt2
— Ionica Smeets (@ionicasmeets) 18 januari 2018
NS halted all trains this morning because of the storm. It was soon over, but there is a lot of damage to railways, overhead lines and stations. The damage must first be repaired before the trains can start driving again, according to NS. The company cannot say much about the trains that are going to drive. The information in the trip planner isn’t to be trusted for more than half an hour ahead.
Tak in de bovenleiding bij #Den Haag Moerwijk. Samen met @BAMInfra_nl proberen we de infra te herstellen. @OvDRail_Andre, @AartdeRuiterOvD en @YKuijs zijn er om te assisteren. pic.twitter.com/aUY84AxYeH
— OvDRail_Marco (@OvDRail_Marco) 18 januari 2018
Rush hour from hell expected
The problems are not over yet on the road as well, warns Rijkswaterstaat. Road users must take into account a busy evening rush hour. With 66 tilted trucks counted, and they have not all been removed yet. During the clean-up work, entire roadways sometimes have to be closed. There were problems especially on bridges, as most trucks were blown away there. Therefore, according to the ANWB it is difficult to travel between the north and the south of the country
‘t Was een puinhoop vanmiddag. Sinds 1990 (!) waaide er op een dag niet zoveel vrachtwagens om als vandaag. Check âžœ https://t.co/wM9gx4r6Rs #storm pic.twitter.com/hJaPeXMSVP
— VID (@vid) 18 januari 2018