A piece of Europe’s railway romance is returning to life, but sadly without the romance or the long-distance service to all the capitals of Europe. Train service through the Hook of Holland is back, but now it’s part of Rotterdam’s metro.
From 1893 until just past 1983, the station was the starting point for trains to Denmark, Poland, Switzerland and more, serving passengers arriving on ferries from Harwich, England and other Channel ports. But the final train to Poland stopped in 1993, and about a decade ago, the ‘Boat Train’ to Amsterdam was dropped.
Once, Hook of Holland was an origination point for the Orient Express
For the past two years, the station has been closed, and passengers were bused to rail stations in Rotterdam. The new metro service will now run every 20 minutes to one of Rotterdam’s rail stations in 34 minutes. However, a change is needed along the way to get to the main station, where long-distance trains are available. The link is included free in tickets from London, Cambridge and Norwich.
