Arriva will operate the Dutch part of the Eindhoven-Venlo-Düsseldorf intercity connection. The carrier has agreed this with the concession holder Start, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn.
The intercity will run from December 2026. The entire route is about 215 kilometers. Nearly a fifth is on Dutch territory.
More responsibility
Arriva will take care of that. In practice, this means, among other things, responsibility for the timetable process, traffic control and management for disruptions and calamities on the railway. In addition, Start and Arriva will work together on recruitment, staff development and training.
Also read: Intercity Eindhoven-Venlo-Düsseldorf starts year later
‘Huge opportunities’
Director Anne Heitinga of Arriva sees enormous growth opportunities for cross-border train traffic and is convinced that regional carriers can provide a good interpretation of this. “We have the ambition, together with our partners, to be a frontrunner in the provision of international train traffic and with our agreement with Start about the intercity to Düsseldorf, we are taking another step in that direction,” says Heitinga.
Shorter travel time
With the new connection, the train journey between Eindhoven and Düsseldorf will be 15 minutes shorter and you no longer need to change trains in Venlo. There is one train per hour. During the week from half past five in the morning until half past ten in the evening. On weekends, the service starts an hour later.
Also read: Intercity Eindhoven-Düsseldorf closed via Venlo