Eurostar Amsterdam service could be halted for almost a year

Eurostar’s Amsterdam rail service could be facing an almost year-long suspension.

It could be halted for 11 months due to renovation work at Amsterdam’s main railway station.

The work at the station will limit space, meaning no facilities to complete post-Brexit passport checks for Eurostar Amsterdam travellers.

The work will last from June 2024 to May 2025.

There has been no progress on plans to temporarily relocate the border checkpoint.

It will mean no direct cross-channel rail services to Amsterdam during this time

The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure says it could complete the renovation work within seven months.

The work would shift the Eurostar terminal to a lower level beneath the main rail station.

Eurostar Amsterdam trains run four times daily.

“We calculate it means 21 extra flights between Schiphol and London and that is crying shame,” Eurostar said.

Eurostar said a Rotterdam option was discussed but is not feasible.

This is because it can only process 160 passengers per train, which is 100 fewer than Amsterdam.

“That makes Rotterdam as a departure point loss-making,” it said.

Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave is in the Netherlands this week for talks with ministers.

Learn more about :   Eurostar International ( United Kingdom )