Eurostar threatens to suspend London-Paris services in 2025
The CEO said a ‘lack of communication’ about work in Amsterdam Centraal station could have major knock-on effects
The Eurostar CEO has shared concerns and warnings about ongoing work in Amsterdam
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International train company Eurostar has warned it may have to “suspend services between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and London and Paris” in 2025, due to ongoing work at Amsterdam Centraal station.
“Eurostar is fully prepared to reopen direct services at the beginning of 2025, as planned,” said Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave in an open letter published in Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad.
“[But] in the absence of clarity on the Dutch rail network…Eurostar will be forced to suspend services between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, on the one hand, and London and Paris, on the other, during 2025.”
She said that trains may have to stop running on the Dutch network altogether - with knock-on effects for the rest of the lines - if she does not receive more guarantees and communication about the reopening of the international terminal in Amsterdam.
‘Reliability problems, capacity restrictions and delays’
Amsterdam Centraal station had to close in June due to renovation work, forcing Eurostar to cancel its direct link with London from the Dutch city. The work was initially scheduled to last six months, but Ms Cazenave has said she is yet to receive assurances on the reopening.
Ms Cazenave added that “the deterioration of the rail network” in Amsterdam, which is “one of the most essential rail links in Europe”, is now leading to “reliability problems, capacity restrictions and delays that are particularly inconvenient for passengers” .
Passengers travelling from Amsterdam to London on Eurostar currently have to get off in Brussels for border control checks, before boarding another train for London.
She said that since November 2023 on several sections of track Eurostar trains have already been forced to travel at 80 km/h instead of 160 km/h. She added concerns that future work in Amsterdam, which has been announced for the station in spring 2025, could also “limit the availability of platforms”.
“The available platforms are only 200 metres long, whereas Eurostar trains are 400 metres long,” she said, deploring a “lack of communication” from the station authorities.
In 2023, 4.2 million passengers travelled on Eurostar between the Netherlands, France, the UK and Belgium, the company said. Eurostar is majority-owned by the French state-owned SNCF Voyageurs.
