The station in Den Bosch was deserted on Tuesday morning. Nevertheless, a number of travelers had come to the station in the hope that a single train would run despite the announced strike.
This Tuesday there will be a strike by NS personnel in the Central Netherlands, which includes the Utrecht Central rail junction. This has consequences for the whole of the Netherlands. With the exception of the Amsterdam Centraal-Schiphol route, there are no NS trains running all day. The NS advises train passengers to postpone their journey or to arrange replacement transport.
This is the fourth day of strike organized by the unions. On Monday, train traffic in North Holland was shut down. Last Wednesday there was already a strike in the north of the Netherlands, and on Friday in South Holland. Next Wednesday it is the turn of the Southern Netherlands. That will cause problems again.
“I can hardly cycle to Amsterdam.”
Not all travelers were aware of the NS strike early on Tuesday morning. “I see that the trains have all been cancelled,” a foreign boy stammered at the station on Tuesday morning. “I don’t know why. A strike? So there’s nothing going on? Pfff… Taking the bus or a taxi seems the only option now.” Another man was lucky. He had to go to work, but was picked up by a colleague from Oss.
A young woman only noticed at the station in Den Bosch that the trains are not running. Balend: “I knew there was going to be a strike, just not when exactly. Now and Wednesday? Then I think I’ll go home. I can hardly cycle to Amsterdam.”
“International train was still in the schedule.”
Another woman has to go to Chur, Switzerland. She knew about the NS strike, but hoped that the international trains would still run. “This was a train that was still scheduled on the internet,” she said. But after a bit of information, this turned out not to be the case. “But luckily we are here five quarters of an hour early. So we can still drive to Germany and then I’ll take the train there. Otherwise I won’t be able to work on Wednesday.”
Another man was waiting for the train to Eindhoven. “I have an appointment there with the CBR,” he explained. “So now I can go back home… Oh, is there a bus to Eindhoven?”
“We hope for understanding and self-reliance.”
Bert Groenewegen, acting president of the NS, acknowledges that the actions have a ‘major impact’ on travelers. “We find it extremely annoying that travelers are affected so much by the actions.” He therefore makes a great appeal to the understanding and self-reliance of the travellers.
“We understand the concerns and the signal from our colleagues. You don’t just go on strike. That is why we would like to talk to the trade unions in order to come to a good collective labor agreement.”
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