With the king’s birthday approaching, public transport is also bracing for overcrowded trains and buses. You can read what that means for you in the overview below.
The Groningen Drenthe public transport agency in particular expects extra traffic on the bus lines in our province on April 26 and 27. This is not without reason, as the bus is becoming increasingly popular as a means of transport on King’s Day and King’s Night. The number of passengers at Qbuzz on those days has increased by no less than 40 percent since 2019.
On the night of April 26 to 27, extra buses will therefore run from Groningen and Stadskanaal to Emmen, Gieten and Borger. Qbuzz will then also deploy extra buses on many lines on King’s Day during the day and until the late hours. The exception is the Meppel night bus; it doesn’t run on Monday night.
To keep all the festivities on track, Qbuzz deploys coordinators at Emmen station. Additional security staff will also be seen on the buses.
Less will change for partygoers who travel by train on King’s Day. Arriva announces the usual timetable on the Vechtdal lines between Emmen and Zwolle. However, a number of extra trains will be deployed on Sunday and Monday evenings.
Three additional trains depart from both Zwolle and Emmen, which means that the end times on King’s Day and King’s Night are moved to 00:19 in Emmen. The last train from Zwolle departs on Sunday night at 12:22 a.m., a day later at 12:57 a.m.
In the evening and night of April 26 to 27, the NS will replace all intercity trains with sprinters between Zwolle and Groningen. According to a spokesperson, the advantage of this is that all trains stop at multiple stations. The trains are longer and they also run more often. There are also tour guides present and trains are cleaned more often. It is recommended that you consult the travel planner just before departure.
An alcohol ban applies at all stations and on all trains from Saturday, April 26, 7:00 PM to April 28, 7:00 AM.
