On Wednesday, August 24, there will be little to no trains running in the northern region of the Netherlands due to a 24-hour strike by the NS staff. None aboard! 🚂
The first day of the strike began at 4 AM and impacts areas the areas of Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe and parts of Flevoland and Overijssel until 4 AM tomorrow, reports the NOS.
Unfortunately, while this strike “ends” within 24 hours, four more 24-hour long strikes will follow, impacting other areas of the Netherlands throughout the upcoming weeks.
READ NEXT | Public transport in the Netherlands: the complete guide
What’s happening on the tracks?
Today, Arriva trains will continue to run between Leeuwarden and Groningen. Though, Freek Bos, the same expert who told passengers to stay home during the NS strikes, says we can expect extra crowds on those trains due to other cancelled intercity trains.
READ MORE | Strikes on Dutch trains this week: what you can expect (hint: delays)
To get an up-to-date look at what’s happening in all the different stations, you can check the situation on the tracks, provided by the NS website.
If, unfortunately, your train gets cancelled due to the organised strike, it’s possible to get a refund of up to €25 per person.
Why is the NS staff on strike?
In short, money. 💰
The trade unions and the NS disagree about a new collective labour agreement which sees to increase the staff’s wages by €100 gross and offer them a one-off payment of €600.
The railway company explains that the demands of the trade unions are going too far as it’s still recovering from a difficult financial situation, as a result of the pandemic.
NS strikes: a location overview
- Wednesday, August 24: Northern Netherlands, including staff from Groningen, Leeuwarden, Lelystad and Zwolle
- Friday, August 26: Western Netherlands, locations The Hague, Dordrecht, Leiden and Rotterdam
- Monday, August 29: Northwest Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Den Helder, Haarlem and Schiphol airports
- Tuesday, August 30: Central Netherlands, including the locations of Utrecht, Gouda and Amersfoort
- Wednesday, August 31: Eastern and Southern Netherlands, including the Arnhem, Breda, Ede-Wageningen, Enschede, Maastricht, Nijmegen and Vlissingen stations
We don’t mean to derail your feelings, but getting on a train is basically going to get a lot harder in the following next week. 🚆
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