Rail operator Arriva has applied for permission to run direct trains from Den Haag Holland Spoor and Amersfoort to Paris starting in early 2028.
If it goes ahead, you’d be able to board in Den Haag and step off in the French capital without a single change and there would be three daily services in each direction.
However, there’s still a fair bit of paperwork standing between the plan and the platform.
What exactly is Arriva proposing?
Arriva has filed an application with the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), the Netherlands’ consumer and markets regulator.
According to RTV Utrecht, the plan covers three daily return trips between Den Haag Holland Spoor and Paris, plus two daily return trips from Amersfoort. Both routes would stop in Antwerp and Brussels.
This isn’t Arriva’s first attempt at a French connection.
As Omroep West reports, the company had already filed plans for a daily Groningen to Paris service, and these new routes from Den Haag and Amersfoort expand that earlier application.
A route to the “city of peace and justice”
Arriva argues a direct link to the political capital fits Den Haag’s role as the “city of peace and justice.” A direct train would make the city easier to reach for global organisations, institutions, and tourists.
The Brussels stop is a selling point too. Arriva points out that travellers could change there for Brussels Airport and the EU’s political heart.
The city of Den Haag is on board. In a statement to Mobiliteit.nl, Arjen Kapteijns, Alderman for Mobility in The Hague, says that the connection is “good news for travellers, it makes international travel easier and more sustainable.”
When can you actually book a ticket?
Arriva wants to launch on February 1, 2028, “or sooner if possible”, but that date is far from guaranteed.
Running a train across three countries means Arriva has to request track capacity separately in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, and coordinate timetables with the rail managers in each.
Until all that’s sorted, there’s no certainty the trains will hit the tracks in early 2028.
Would you swap a flight for a direct train from Den Haag to Paris? Tell us in the comments!
Yes I would swap the plane vs the train.
Say it goes from Hollands Spoor to “gare du nord” Paris and you’d have an appropriate travel time of 3 to 3 1/2 hours considering the transport to schipol, the security checks and the shuttle from CDG to Paris centre – the train will be a fast if not faster alternative from Den Haag. Besides the environment footprint is way better considered flying.
It would be better if it departed from Den Haag CS. Also, it could run via Brussels Airport instead of only offering a connection to the airport.
Nice to have this option. How long does Arriva expect the time to take from leaving to arrival?