On Wednesday, 24 August, NS workers will begin a week-long strike against the Dutch railway company, which will affect train schedules in certain areas.
That means: disruptions, cancelled plans, and a really good excuse to not visit your in-laws.
While the exact consequences of the strike aren’t crystal clear yet, here’s a forecast about what you can expect to happen within the next two weeks, according to Treinreiziger.nl:
- Wednesday 24: The strike will mainly affect trains in the Northern region of the Netherlands (Zwolle, Groningen, Lelystad and Leeuwarden) with limited nuisance in the rest of the country.
- Friday 26: Train passengers in the west can expect to face train traffic in Rotterdam and there will be little to no available trains in The Hague and Dordrecht.
- Monday 29: Major disruptions will touch the northwest region of the Netherlands. Train traffic throughout North Holland (including Amsterdam) is expected to come to a standstill, also affecting international trains.
- Tuesday 30: workers in the Central region will strike, which is expected to cause train disruptions in Utrecht and Amersfoort.
- Wednesday 31: The last day of the scheduled strike will most likely cause a nuisance in the east of the Netherlands (Zutphen, Hengelo, Enschede, Arnhem and Nijmegen) and the south (Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg).
Forecast not guaranteed
In the Netherlands, if unions plan to go on strike, they must announce it at least 48 hours in advance. Since NS workers want to work up as much surprise as they can muster, they’re not eager to share much information with the public yet.
Train disruptions and cancellations are expected. But, there’s a good chance that it could play out a little differently than the forecast above — so take the information with a grain of salt.
However, Treinreiziger.nl anticipates a NS workers will have a high willingness to take action because the railway company has been playing it safe during strikes over the last couple of years.
Hold on to your hats, internationals: it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
How do you feel about the upcoming strike by NS workers? Tell us in the comments below!
Unions are simply a gateway to communism. They serve no purpose whatsoever in a free society. Any worker that strikes should be fired just like Reagan did with the air traffic controllers.
How can you be so hilariously wrong? Income inequality in the United States was at its lowest when union membership was it’s highest.
Then again, it sounds like the corporatist hellscape trajectory accelerated by Reagan was a dream come true for you.
You are comparing something that happened very long ago. This is not about income inequality anyway. NS is going through a hard time already and then the workers come and ask for more money. From where can they get more money?
And messing everybody else’s lives will not grant them bonus points.
You don’t like your job, go find another job.
Okay but why not write about alternatives in the article? Are there none? Like, no replacement buses (or regular bus routes) between cities?
Hi, if on Tuesday 30 workers in the Central region will strike, which is expected to cause train disruptions in Utrecht, will this impact trains running through Utrecht from Amsterdam? I am due to get the sleeper train from Amsterdam to Innsbruck on that day and it runs via Utrecht.
Hi Ben, as far as we know, it’s unlikely your train will run to Innsbruck if it passes through the central region on Tuesday. However, please check with the train company you’re travelling with to confirm whether this is the case or not. Best of luck with your travels!