Eurostar suspends the Amsterdam-London service for six months

The direct train service from Amsterdam to London on the Eurostar, the sleek, fast train that connects Britain with north-west Europe, will be suspended for six months next year, the train company said.

The closure, which will start in June, is a result of the renovation of Amsterdam Central Station, from where the Eurostar departs to London. Due to the work, the terminal where passengers go through security and passport control in Amsterdam will not be accessible, said Carola Belderbos, spokeswoman for the Dutch Railways.

The terminal can accommodate approximately 250 people. A larger terminal for Eurostar passengers, which will offer almost twice as much space, is being built in another part of the station but is not expected to be ready until January 2025, Ms Belderbos said.

“It’s a shame,” she said, adding that the railway company has done its best to entice people to take the train instead of plane for short distances. A flight from Amsterdam to London takes less than an hour. The train journey from Amsterdam to London takes approximately four hours, with stops in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Brussels and Lille, France.

The closure of the Amsterdam-London route, which was introduced in 2020, would initially last a full year, according to previous announcements from the Dutch news media. The service will still be disrupted, but that time has now been halved.

“Our focus must now turn to how we can provide the best experience and travel connections to Eurostar customers during this period,” Gwendoline Cazenave, the CEO of Eurostar Group, said in a statement, adding that “we will continue to provide services directly between London and Amsterdam at least one way.”

During the service disruption it will still be possible to travel from Amsterdam to Great Britain by train, but passengers will have to change trains in Brussels.

All passport control for passengers traveling from London to Amsterdam takes place at St. Pancras International station in London.

The Eurostar struggled during the pandemic, when its passengers all but disappeared. Britain’s departure from the European Union has added to the problems, forcing the railway company to limit the number of passengers it carries due to longer wait times at passport control.

The large number of tourists from Britain and other countries visiting Amsterdam has put pressure on the city. According to sources, nearly 9 million tourists visited the city in 2021 the city’s website. That number peaked in 2019, at about 22 million tourists.