EUROSTAR services between Amsterdam and London will be suspended from June to November 2024, rather than 11 months as originally proposed, to allow the huge reconstruction project at Amsterdam Central station to proceed unimpeded.
The reconstruction project means that the building on platform 15 used for passport control and security checks for Eurostar passengers bound for Britain will be demolished, and new facilities in Amstel Passage beneath the station platforms will not be ready until December 2024.
The original 11-month closure of the Eurostar border control and security facilities at Amsterdam Central faced a massive backlash resulting in a study to see whether the closure could be reduced in length or temporary facilities set up to allow Eurostar to maintain its service to London. However, the study found that it is impossible to avoid a suspension of the service although the duration could be reduced.
One option was to start the Netherlands - London service in Rotterdam, but Eurostar says this is not economically viable as the passport control and security facilities at Rotterdam Central station are too small to cope with passengers displaced from Amsterdam and a London bound Eurostar train with 750 seats would be almost entirely empty on departure from Rotterdam.
The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure, Netherlands Railways (NS), Eurostar and Dutch rail infrastructure manager Prorail will examine how to minimise inconvenience to passengers and find optimal alternatives for travelling by train between the Netherlands and Britain.
Travel organisations say that the Amsterdam - Eurostar suspension will lead to 21 more daily flights between Amsterdam and London.
