The station in Den Bosch is deserted on Tuesday morning. Only two foreign travelers are in the station. One did not know about the NS strike on this day. The other did, but he secretly hoped that a train would run after all.
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 of 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. It is the turn of the Southern Netherlands on Wednesday. That will cause problems again.
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.”