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Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

independent.co.uk

1–10 of 67 posts

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#3
"Refurbishment of Centraal station in the Dutch capital is responsible for the closure."

Seems like they just won't be able to handle the capacity of too many visitors at once with the construction. Hopefully will help set the station up for continued success in the future!

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#4
This is because of customs and border controls required by the UK, which needs a large separated and secured section inside the train station. Trains to other European destinations don't need any of that. Note that this direct route with border controls in Amsterdam has only been available since 2020. Before that all the checks were done in Brussels, a situation that they will revert to during the six months of refurbishment.

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#5
A lot of European countries do not permit continued use of rail infrastructure while being serviced as it can be quite dangerous. [1]

Switzerland is an exception to this but it results in extremely complex infrastructure projects with of course a much higher cost and more accidents. However having the infrastructure available in many cases prevents overall economic losses due to less trains etc.

[1] https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/unfaelle-mit-bauzuegen-gleis...

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#6

A lot of European countries do not permit continued use of rail infrastructure while being serviced as it can be quite dangerous. [1] Switzerland is an exception to this but it results in extremely complex infrastructure projects with of course a much higher cost and more accidents. However having the infrastructure available in many cases prevents overall economic losses due to less trains etc. [1] https://www.srf.c…

The line itself isn't being serviced, it is the station. UK-bound lines take up excessive space due to Brexit-related security controls, so there isn't enough space for both the security and the construction areas.

They're still running the line from London to Amsterdam, which is why the line is still running and why the trains have to deadhead back.

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#7
Such a weird news story. Amsterdam is running a campaign to literally ask British tourists to stay away from the city.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/03/29/see-amsterdams-ne...

And yet, the Netherlands is investing in their infrastructure to literally unload an even larger volume of tourists straight from London into the very heart of Amsterdam?

What gives? This sounds awfully contradictory.

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#8
post #3

"Refurbishment of Centraal station in the Dutch capital is responsible for the closure." Seems like they just won't be able to handle the capacity of too many visitors at once with the construction. Hopefully will help set the station up for continued success in the future!

Because Great Britain is not part of the Schengen customs zone, customs checks are required before boarding the train (this is the only train at the station with such checks). Due to the renovation, the part of the station where passport and baggage checks by customs officers were performed is to close down && turns out there's not enough space at the station to house temporary border checks, so... no train.

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#9
post #6

A lot of European countries do not permit continued use of rail infrastructure while being serviced as it can be quite dangerous. [1] Switzerland is an exception to this but it results in extremely complex infrastructure projects with of course a much higher cost and more accidents. However having the infrastructure available in many cases prevents overall economic losses due to less trains etc. [1] https://www.srf.c…

The line itself isn't being serviced, it is the station. UK-bound lines take up excessive space due to Brexit-related security controls, so there isn't enough space for both the security and the construction areas. They're still running the line from London to Amsterdam, which is why the line is still running and why the trains have to deadhead back.

Nothing to do with Brexit, same thing happened before. It's because the UK wasn't in Schengen and the channel tunnel regulations require security (which is a waste of time, but it's because the tunnel was inaugurated when the IRA bombing campaign was in full flow)

Re: Eurostar Amsterdam to London trains cancelled for six months

#10
post #6

A lot of European countries do not permit continued use of rail infrastructure while being serviced as it can be quite dangerous. [1] Switzerland is an exception to this but it results in extremely complex infrastructure projects with of course a much higher cost and more accidents. However having the infrastructure available in many cases prevents overall economic losses due to less trains etc. [1] https://www.srf.c…

The line itself isn't being serviced, it is the station. UK-bound lines take up excessive space due to Brexit-related security controls, so there isn't enough space for both the security and the construction areas. They're still running the line from London to Amsterdam, which is why the line is still running and why the trains have to deadhead back.

That isnt actually a brexit thing. There always was passport controls as the UK was never part of Schengen.
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