It appears that direct Eurostar service from Amsterdam to London will be cut off for several months next year after all, despite announcements in October that a way had been found to avoid the construction-related disruption.
Construction at Amsterdam’s Centraal Station next summer will, for about six months, cut off access to areas in the station that are used for customs clearance of passengers headed for London. The clearance is required because the UK is not a member of the Schengen border union.
Plans originally called for an 11-month shutdown of the service that has been in place and growing in popularity since 2020; in October a Swiss consultant’s plan was hailed by both Eurostar and Dutch rail officials as making the cutback unnecessary.
That has now changed again, and Eurostar officials are making plans to continue service in different ways. Service direct from London to Amsterdam is not affected because customs and immigration take place in London. Prior to opening the customs area in Amsterdam in 2020, passengers for London took trains to Brussels and met Eurostar there; that is likely to be back in place.
Prior to comp
