Fewer NS Trains on Monday and Tuesday From Heat and Storm Damage
Broken-down trains and damaged track are still being repaired after the heatwave and a stormy weekend. NS advises checking the journey planner before you travel.
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Travellers in the Netherlands should expect fewer trains on Monday and Tuesday, as the rail network recovers from the recent extreme heat and a stormy weekend. The national rail operator NS said it is reducing intercity services on several routes, mostly in the Randstad, the densely populated region that includes Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
What caused the disruption
The problems come from two separate causes. During the heatwave of the past week, the high temperatures caused trains to break down and led to technical failures at switches (the moving sections of track that guide trains from one line to another). Then, during the severe storms overnight from Saturday to Sunday, trees and branches fell onto the tracks in several places, and a lightning strike near Gouda brought train traffic there to a standstill.
The combination made repairs harder. NS said the storm damage made it difficult to move broken-down trains to maintenance depots, and that staff from across the country were working extra to get those trains repaired and back into service. The rail infrastructure manager ProRail said the problems caused by the lightning strike near Gouda have since been resolved.
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Which routes are affected
NS said the impact is limited and concentrated in the Randstad, where many trains already run. On Monday and Tuesday, fewer intercity trains are running on five routes: The Hague Centraal to Utrecht Centraal; The Hague Centraal to Amsterdam Centraal; Utrecht Centraal to Rotterdam Centraal; Rotterdam Centraal to Schiphol and Arnhem Centraal; and Alkmaar to Haarlem, the last of these during rush hour only. There are also fewer sprinter trains, the local services that stop at every station, between Gouda Goverwelle and The Hague Centraal during rush hour. NS did not say whether the reduced service would continue after Tuesday, but said it would post any further impact on its website and in the NS app.
The heat itself has eased
The disruption is the aftermath of the heat rather than the heat itself, which has now broken. After Friday’s record-breaking temperatures and a round of heavy thunderstorms, the weather has turned cooler, with daytime temperatures expected to stay around 25°C for much of this week. The trains, switches and tracks, however, still need time to recover.
What travellers should do
NS advised passengers to set off well prepared. The simplest step is to check the NS Reisplanner, the journey planner on the NS website and app, just before leaving, or to turn on notifications in the app, so any changes to a specific journey show up in good time. Because the affected routes are busy commuter lines, the trains that are still running may be fuller than usual, so allowing extra time is sensible.