Eurostar’s London-Amsterdam trains to be suspended for almost a year from 2024

Eurostar’s Amsterdam to London train service will be suspended for up to 11 months starting next year.

This is due to renovation work on the Dutch capital’s main railway station. The work at Amsterdam Centraal station will reduce the space available for carrying out post-Brexit security checks.

The works will take place from June 2024 to May 2025. During this time, there will be no direct cross-channel rail services to Amsterdam.

During the works at Amsterdam Centraal, there will be a lack of space to complete passport and luggage checks for the Eurostar’s London service.

This means the four daily services that run from Amsterdam to London would not be able to carry out post-Brexit security checks.

Plans to temporarily relocate security facilities have not worked out.

However, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure hopes it can speed up the completion of the new Amstelpassage, which will see the Eurostar terminal relocated to a passage beneath the station.

Originally slated for completion in spring 2025, the terminal could be partially open by late 2024. This would reduce the closure time from 11 to seven months. Once the passage is complete, it will more than double capacity for departures to the UK.

In the absence of a direct Eurostar service between Amsterdam and London, it is likely that passengers will turn to flights to make the journey.

“I am aware that this outcome has a negative impact on the passengers and the ambition to replace short-haul flights with trains,” Vivianne Heijnen, Minister for the Environment, said in a letter to Parliament last week.

Amsterdam Centraal can currently process up to 250 passengers per train for Eurostar’s service to London.

The Eurostar could still run to Rotterdam - 40 minutes from Amsterdam