For fans of the Dutch city of Amsterdam (and who is not?) it was bad news last summer that services were being paused. And the culprit? Yes, you guessed it, our friend Brexit, which necessitated more intensive border controls at Amsterdam Centraal. Thanks, Boris!
In the interim, passengers therefore have had to disembark in Brussels for passport control and security checks before travelling on to London. Thanks, Boris!
Anyhow, thanks to some speedy work by the Dutch, the construction of additional facilities continues apace such that Eurostar has confirmed that it will resume its direct services between Amsterdam and London from 10 February, 2025.
Can I also make a pitch here that this means the line is open in time to book to go and see Keukenhof, the amazing tulip park, which is open from 20 March to 11 May in 2025, and is just one of the most wonderful places to visit in the spring in Europe.
You can get there by train or taxi from Centraal. It’s completely wonderful, but book in advance if you can as the Dutch regard it as a sacred duty to attend each year so it can sell out.
The high-speed rail operator said that the forthcoming resumption is thanks to a “strong collaborative effort” between Eurostar, Dutch partners Prorail and NS.
Eurostar has also confirmed that the service will also have a total of 440 seats – up from the previous 275 capacity. The increase is owing to greater capacity at the newly renovated Amsterdam terminal, which will eventually have a capacity of 700 people, enabling more customers to board Eurostar trains.
Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar, said: “Eurostar is fully committed to a bright future in the Netherlands and we thank our partners NS and Prorail for their work with us to ensure direct services to London could return and those to Paris and Brussels could continue. We look forward to the opening of the new Amsterdam terminal, which is going to offer more space and an exceptional experience for customers.”
Wouter Koolmees, CEO of NS Dutch Railways, added: “Direct Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to London is excellent news for our passengers and a significant contribution to realising climate goals. In combination with the new and enlarged check-in terminal in Amsterdam we can offer this direct connection to more passengers than before.
“We are proud to deliver the new terminal within time and budget, built in a monumental environment of Amsterdam Central Station. We look forward to continuing operating jointly the Eurostar trains between the Netherlands, France and UK.”
Eurostar will also continue to serve its routes to Paris and Brussels from Amsterdam, which used to be called Thalys, but that just reminds me I am old.
Keukenhof – open 20 March 2025 to 11 May 2025
Related: Christmas market hailed ‘best in Europe’ just £8 flight from UK
