Eurostar says Amsterdam to London link to resume in 2025

PARIS

A direct high-speed train service from Amsterdam to London will resume early next year, Eurostar has said, once work at the Dutch capital's international terminal has been completed.

The direct service between Amsterdam and London has been temporarily closed since June with the city's main station undergoing extensive renovations, making it impossible to carry out border controls for boarding passengers.

"Our direct trains from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London will be back in service from the beginning of 2025," Eurostar said in a status update on its website.

"We'll be reopening with a bigger and better London departures area at Amsterdam Centraal, to make your travel experience even smoother," it said.

Dutch daily De Volkskrant said the first train is expected to leave on February 10 next year "slightly later than what was planned for January."

"Not all work will be completed by then," the paper said, quoting a Eurostar spokeswoman.

Since the direct route to London was halted for a scheduled six months through to year's end, passengers have had to disembark in Brussels for passport control before completing their journey.

The route from London to Amsterdam was not affected.

Eurostar's chief Gwendoline Cazenave in September threatened to scrap the rail route to the Netherlands over doubts when the terminal would reopen.

In 2023, Eurostar said it had carried a total 4.2 million passengers between the Netherlands and France, Britain and Belgium.