A helium balloon caused a major train disruption at Schiphol Airport on Wednesday morning after it came into contact with overhead power lines, triggering a short circuit that halted all rail traffic to and from the airport for several hours.
Video footage shows the foil balloon touching the overhead wires, creating a shower of sparks before the power failed. ProRail confirmed the balloon was the cause of the disruption, which initially forced NS to suspend all services to the airport until around 10:15.
Banned for a reason
Helium balloons have been prohibited on train platforms at Schiphol since 2013, with warning signs posted at station entrances. The balloons, typically made of thin aluminium foil, conduct electricity. When they contact the high-voltage overhead lines, they cause short circuits and explode in a shower of sparks.
A ProRail spokesperson described the incident as "really very annoying" and urged travellers to follow the balloon ban. "We emphatically call on people to comply with this rule. The consequences have been enormous."
The balloons are sold at Schiphol and often given to arriving passengers as welcome gifts. Those continuing their journey by train are asked to deflate such balloons before entering the station. It remains unclear whether the person responsible will face consequences for violating the ban.
Part of a difficult winter for rail
The Schiphol disruption adds to what has been a challenging period for Dutch rail infrastructure. January 2026 saw a record 712 disruptions, according to ProRail figures analysed by Treinreiziger, compared to just 56 in January 2025. Of these, 204 were switch failures, 203 involved broken-down trains, and 68 were directly attributed to winter weather.
The Amsterdam-Utrecht corridor has been particularly affected. Data from Rijdendetreinen.nl shows 488 disruptions on this line over the past two years, averaging one per day with each lasting nearly three hours. On Wednesday, a separate points failure meant fewer trains were running between Amsterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal until at least 19:30, while a fire alarm also disrupted services between The Hague and Leiden.
A defective track between Rotterdam and Breda is causing delays expected to last until Thursday, and work on tracks around Den Haag Centraal is reducing services until mid-February.
Infrastructure under pressure
ProRail has acknowledged that the Dutch rail network is vulnerable to winter conditions. Unlike countries such as Sweden or Switzerland where heavy snowfall is routine, the Netherlands sees severe winter weather less frequently, making the investment case for full winterproofing harder to justify.
In early January, an IT failure at NS combined with widespread switch failures brought the entire NS network to a halt for much of a Tuesday morning. The disruption highlighted the fragility of the system when multiple problems occur simultaneously.
For travellers, ProRail's advice remains the same: check the NS travel planner shortly before departure and be prepared for delays, cancellations, or longer journey times.
