Prepare for delays, cancellations, and overall chaos on your rail commute this morning, as potential sabotage has brought much of the Netherlands’ central and northern routes to a standstill.
A malfunction was first detected at around 5:30 AM, reports ProRail, and since then, failures have occurred at multiple locations across the central Netherlands.
The rail manager warns that if you’re catching the train today, you’ll want to factor in possible delays, cancellations, and extra travel time.
To make matters worse, several level crossings are also malfunctioning, which could affect road traffic.
UPDATE: According to an edit by ProRail, “materials were found at multiple locations on the track that were deliberately placed there”, causing the malfunction. The rail manager suspects sabotage, and Dutch police are currently investigating.
Several routes are unavailable, says NS
As reported by the NS, ProRail has managed to remove some of the material on the track and resume traffic on certain routes.
However, the following are still nonoperational:
- Amersfoort – Deventer,
- Amersfoort – Zwolle,
- and Zwolle – Deventer.
Due to the scale of the disruption, NS is unable to deploy replacement buses. Further, they warn that an uptick in users on the NS reisplanner (travel planner) may lead to the service being “less accessible than usual”.
ProRail is working hard to clear the debris
Rail employees are “working hard to clear these materials and make the situation safe”, and ProRail is currently in contact with national emergency services regarding the possible sabotage.
However, there’s no current estimate for when rail travel will resume on all the routes.
For now, the rail manager advises travellers to consult their journey planner for up-to-date travel information before heading to the station.
If you’ve got the NS or 9292 apps, you’ll want to plug your route in and keep an eye out for any changes — even if you aren’t in the affected region.
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