Arriva has urged the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure to start negotiations with private operators to develop alternatives to Fyra which will satisfy market demand on the Amsterdam – Brussels corridor. During a hearing at the Dutch Parliament into the collapse of Fyra and its impact on cross-border train services, Arriva Netherlands director Mr Anne Hettinga stated that his company has submitted an alternative plan for the operation of high-speed services from Amsterdam to Brussels via the HSL South high-speed line. These would be run in close cooperation with parent company German Rail (DB), and could be extended to serve destinations further afield. The service could be launched in December 2016 following the delivery of new high-speed trains.

In order to develop more detailed proposals and a business case for the proposed service, Arriva has asked the Ministry of Infrastructure to release government data for the project, as it has previously done for Netherlands Railways (NS).

Arriva has already been selected by the municipality of The Hague to operate a direct open-access service between the Dutch city and Brussels from the end of 2014. These trains will run entirely on conventional lines and will not use HSL South.