NS and ProRail will carry out major track maintenance throughout July and August. Annoying? Yep — but perhaps they were counting on cursed Dutch weather to cause more disruption to passenger plans than their work.
But now the weather is finally picking up, all while the transport chaos continues.
Significant train delays and cancellations are expected for the cities of The Hague, Rotterdam and Amersfoort over the coming weeks, NU.nl reports.
No trains between Den Haag and Rotterdam
If the sun has you beelining for Scheveningen, you might want to double-check the trains.
From now until Thursday, 25 July, there will be no trains running between Den Haag Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal. 🚫🚄
On top of that, trains between Den Haag Centraal and Schiedam Centrum will not run from 25 to 27 July.
Allow extra time for alternative routes
Instead, you can travel by train via Gouda or the RandstadRail or catch a replacement bus between The Hague and Rotterdam.
The replacement buses will stop at all stations on the Den Haag Centraal – Rotterdam Centraal route.
@dutchreview But I’m already 3 cancellations deep 🫠 #dutchlife #thenetherlands #netherlands #dutchmemes #dutchreview #delays #travelnetherlands #amsterdam #holland #meme #memcut ♬ original sound – Kevin Solomon
Not only will the bus add about half an hour onto your journey, but the NS also advises avoiding rush hour for further delays.
“We expect large crowds on the buses. Also avoid RET metro line E between Rotterdam Central and The Hague Central due to limited capacity. Plan your trip shortly before departure with the journey planner for the most up-to-date advice.”
Amersfoorters also affected
Amersfoort passengers might have survived the summer of limited train services so far, but they’ll need to keep pushing on for a few more weeks.
Due to ProRail’s major track renewal around Amersfoort Centraal, no more trains will run there for two weeks, until 28 July. Disruption is also expected between 15 and 18 August.
You can reroute via Arnhem or Almere during this period or take one of the replacement buses running throughout the surrounding area.
READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #26: Complain about the NS
OK, so what have we learnt after that mammoth travel catchup? NS and ProRail are BUSY. If you want to see all the planned work and consequences for passengers, check out the overview page on NS.
Will these summer travel disruptions affect you? Let us know in the comments below.