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The Dutch railway company NS confirms plans to double the number of intercity trains between the Netherlands and Brussels from the end of this year, from 16 to 32. This is stated in a request for advice for the new timetable, which will come into effect from December 15.
Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 2:16 PM
In concrete terms, NS and the Belgian railway company NMBS want to split the current IC Brussels, also known as the Benelux train or Amsterdammer, into two connections, each with 16 trains per day. The first connection will be a fast train between Amsterdam South and Brussels South, with stops in Schiphol, Rotterdam, Antwerp. Travel time will decrease by 45 minutes compared to now. In addition, there will be a train between Rotterdam and Brussels-South with stops in Breda, Noorderkempen, Antwerp-Central, Antwerp-Berchem, Mechelen, Brussels Airport, Brussels-North and Brussels-Central.
In the request for advice, addressed to regional authorities and passenger organizations in the Netherlands, NS also indicates that the ‘three-country train’ between Liège, Maastricht and Aachen should normally be a reality in the first half of 2024. Finally, nothing will change about the timetable between Roosendaal and Antwerp.
According to the new NS timetable, 1,600 extra trains will run every week in the Netherlands from mid-December than at present. “It is the biggest change in years,” says NS. “We will connect various regions of the Netherlands better and more often, both during the day and at earlier and later times. At the same time, we are implementing changes to keep Amsterdam and Schiphol easily accessible despite years of work at Amsterdam Central station.”
The regional authorities and traveler organizations will review the plan and formulate advice. It is then up to the Dutch rail network operator ProRail to put together the puzzle of the wishes of NS, other passenger carriers and freight carriers. The final timetable will follow in the autumn.