Remember those fast, eco-friendly, smooth train journeys connecting the Netherlands to London, Brussels, and Paris? From 2025, you may have to bid adieu to them: Eurostar is threatening to leave the Netherlands.
The warning comes directly from the top: in a letter on the Het Financieele Dagblad, Eurostar’s CEO Gwendoline Cazenave explained why the company’s Dutch operations may be approaching their final stop.
Too many disruptions
The main reason for the impending divorce is simple: Eurostar is fed up with the constant disruptions of the Dutch rail network — relatable, right?
@dutchreview But "concepts" won't get me home 😡 #dutchreview #fyp #netherlands #dutchlife #ns #trein #dutchstruggles #nederland #expatlife ♬ original sound – Chief Green Screens
Despite the many ambitious renovation projects currently underway, the Netherlands’ rail infrastructure is “in decline,” writes Cazenave.
The result? On some Eurostar routes, trains are forced to reduce their speed from 160 to 80 kilometres per hour, meaning passengers face delays in their journey.
As you can imagine, travellers are not happy, and neither is Eurostar management.
Never-ending construction work
Endless construction work is also a problem. Specifically, renovations at Amsterdam Centraal are the biggest worry in Eurostar’s metallic heart.
The renovations, which previously caused the suspension of the Amsterdam-London service, are meant to be completed by early 2025. Eurostar, however, is sceptical on whether that will be the case.
READ NEXT | This Dutch train station is officially the third-best in Europe (and we’re kind of surprised)
Moreover, even if everything goes according to plan, the service will soon be disrupted again: more renovations are planned for the spring, which may limit the availability of longer tracks, possibly disrupting the service to Paris as well this time.
At this rate, Dutch Eurostar services may never see another spring. 👀
What’s the next stop?
With many regular passengers relying on Eurostar trains for their commute or important business trips, the company cannot afford to watch the quality of its Dutch services deteriorate any further.
Currently, therefore, the only thing moving at high speed is the company itself, and it’s heading right out of the Netherlands.
However, Cazenave’s letter leaves some space for hope: the historical and logistical centrality of the Netherlands to the company is undeniable, meaning that Eurostar will strive to avoid its Nexit as much as possible.
Would you be affected by Eurostar discontinuing its Dutch operations? Tell us about it in the comments below.
I travelled on Eurostar once but got off in Rotterdam. I will be sad to see this service stopped.
For high speed trains we must migrate to Asia i guess. In Europe nothing works or is falling apart all together. I live now in an EU country that even has no direct connections to our neighboring country by train.
The Dutch train system was very good and reliable but they cannot get it right. Then the high speed line constructions are breaking apart. I know from the past that this is caused by some stupid mistake in the construction. They did not want to rectify it.