Eurostar is due to temporarily resume its Amsterdam to London train service next month after a months-long break that forced travellers to divert to Brussels when travelling between the two cities.

Direct Eurostar trains from the Netherlands to London are expected to return on 10 February, allowing commuters and travellers to head to Amsterdam and Rotterdam without having to change trains in Belgium.

However, the high-speed rail operator said that this will only be a temporary restart, as the service will then close again on 29 March for “essential works” at Amsterdam Centraal.

Eurostar said that the direct service will again resume at the end of April 2025.

While direct trains are not running, train passengers travelling from Amsterdam or Rotterdam to London have taken the Eurostar to Brussels-Midi/Zuid, and gone through border control, before hopping on another train to London.

The Eurostar between Amsterdam and Brussels takes just under two hours, with an average time of around 45 minutes to change trains.

With the change, the Amsterdam train journey can take just under five hours depending on the date and time booked, while journeys departing from Rotterdam can take just under four hours.

Passengers are required to bring their passports, as border and security checks, both by Belgian and British authorities, take place in Brussels before boarding the Eurostar to London.

Those travelling the other way, from London to the Netherlands, have been able to still access direct services, which take around three hours and 52 minutes.

Dutch rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) announced in November 2023 that Amsterdam Centraal will not be able to process cross-Channel passengers due to a major renovation of the station.

The services eventually halted in June 2024, with NS saying that organisations involved in the renovation project investigated how services from Amsterdam could continue but found it would not be possible “despite all efforts”.

“That is very disappointing because we have worked hard in recent years to make the Eurostar to London an attractive alternative to air travel,” an NS spokesperson said in 2023.

“The good news is that many more passengers can depart from Amsterdam Centraal station by train via this new terminal.

“From 250 passengers per train now to 400 passengers per train as of January 2025, and later that year even 650 passengers per train.”

NS initially predicted that Amsterdam Centraal would open its doors to cross-Channel travellers to London by January 2025, but this has been pushed back a month.

Eurostar announced that it carried a record-breaking 19.5 million passengers last year, a five per cent increase from 2023.

This equated to 850,000 more passengers, with the increase partly due to the travel demand amid the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris last summer.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast

Read More