Eurostar train services from London to Amsterdam and Rotterdam will be suspended for up to 11 months whilst major rebuilding work at Amsterdam Centraal is undertaken.
The Dutch transport minister confirmed the story in a briefing on Friday, according to Dutch media reports. The suspension is due to the lack of space to accommodate passport checks and baggage screening during the works.
The suspension is due to start in June 2024 and could run until May 2025, although in a ‘best case’ scenario the Dutch Government believes that the work could be completed in seven months.
The irony is that these new facilities are also temporary. The plan is for Eurostar trains to eventually terminate at Amsterdam Zuid, although this requires the completion of construction work which is currently not expected until 2036.
It appears that it is not possible to run trains between St Pancras International and Rotterdam. Whilst Eurostar currently drops off and picks up passengers in Rotterdam, the station has a limited capacity and can only handle 160 passengers per train. It is, apparently, impossible to run a service profitably on this basis.
There are currently four direct trains per day between St Pancras International and Amsterdam. The service launched in 2018 – Head for Points was on the launch service as we covered here – although for the first two years you had to change trains in Brussels on the return due to the lack of passport facilities in Amsterdam.
Thanks to Jan for this.