Eurostar Amsterdam-to-London services to be suspended for six months

The London-to-Amsterdam train journey typically takes almost four hours

Eurostar services from the Netherlands to London will be suspended for six months from June next year.

Renovation work in Amsterdam means officials will be unable to process cross-Channel passengers until 2025.

Passengers from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London will be required to change trains in Brussels.

Outbound travel from London to the Netherlands will continue, according to Eurostar.

Negotiations between the Dutch government, the local railways operator and Eurostar over renovations at Amsterdam's central station failed to reach an agreement which would allow services to continue.

Works at the station will mean there will not be not enough space to process London-bound passengers, who must go through more extensive security and passport checks than passengers to the Netherlands and neighbouring countries.

Contacted for comment, Eurostar did not clarify why works in Amsterdam would prevent passengers boarding in Rotterdam.

Four trains operate daily between London and Amsterdam, stopping at Brussels and Rotterdam on the way.

The London-Amsterdam connection launched in full in October 2020.

The period of disruption is shorter than initially expected, at six months instead of 12, Eurostar said in a statement.

The link between the Netherlands and the UK is the latest Eurostar connection to be suspended as the company grapples with growing challenges, including post-Brexit border checks and staff shortages.

Direct services to Disneyland Paris ended this summer, while connections between London and Marseille via Lyon were axed during the pandemic.

Trains linking the UK to continental Europe have not stopped at two stations in Kent since 2020 - Ashford and Ebbsfleet.

In January, chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said the company was carrying a third fewer passengers on its flagship London to Paris route.