Eurostar will continue to operate services between Amsterdam and London this summer – instead of suspending the service as previously feared – by providing connecting services via Brussels, where customs and immigration procedures will take place.
The international rail operator previously said the popular route would be shut down for six months from June 2024 due to renovations works at Amsterdam Centraal station.
Eurostar has reportedly found a partial solution to maintain a limited service to the Dutch city during the renovations, with three direct trains from London and a return service via Brussels, according to reports in Dutch newspaper NL Times.
The journey from Amsterdam to London will now include a 48-minute stop at the Eurostar Terminal in Brussels-Zuid in order to carry out formalities such as passenger processing and customs checks. Trains will then make the journey from Brussels to London in one hour, roughly ten minutes faster than they currently operate.
The altered summer route will see the total journey time increase slightly from just over four hours to four hours and 40 minutes.
Eurostar CEO Gewendoline Cazenave reportedly said that the door-to-door travel time will remain the same as passengers will no longer need to arrive 45 minutes early for their Amsterdam departure.
Eurostar had previously considered moving its Dutch departure/arrivals lounge from Amsterdam to Rotterdam but that the proposal was “not viable due to capacity and safety reasons”.
The rail operator this week also reported a 22 per cent rise in passenger numbers in 2023, reaching 18.9 million passengers and a return to pre-Covid traffic levels.
