Staff of the Dutch Railways (NS) strike again today, already for the third time. This time there is a strike in North Holland, but train passengers throughout the Netherlands have to take longer travel times and change more often into account. International train passengers are also noticing the consequences of the strike. NS staff will also be on strike tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Thalys and Eurostar do not run, other international trains run less or only run part of the route. For example, the intercity train from Brussels to Amsterdam does not travel further than Rotterdam.
The train from Berlin does not go further than Bad Bentheim. Due to the strike, the German railway service Deutsche Bahn finds it too insecure to enter the Netherlands, according to a spokesperson for NS. People can take a regional train across the border from Bad Bentheim.
In the Netherlands, fewer trains run between Leiden and Rotterdam Central, Rotterdam Central and Dordrecht and Breukelen and Veenendaal. The high-speed line also does not run between Amsterdam Central and Breda. Schiphol is also difficult to reach due to the strike. The NS does run at minimum occupation from Utrecht to the airport, which means that about two trains per hour run on the route. Nevertheless, the NS asks people to only go to Schiphol by train if it is really impossible to get there in another way.
The NS advises travelers to use other transport or to postpone the journey in the journey planner. “Buses cannot be used. The journey planner has been updated, but given the uncertainty, we recommend that you plan your journey shortly before departure,” says the NS in the journey planner.
The Dutch traffic organization ANWB says it does not see any extra traffic jams due to the train strike, not even around Amsterdam. For the rest of the day, the traffic organization thinks that the traffic on the road by people who would otherwise have gone by train will not be too bad. “People were aware of the strike in advance and are also used to working from home,” said a spokesperson.
NS personnel are taking action because of the failed collective labor agreement negotiations between NS and the trade unions FNV, CNV and VVMC.
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