Although there are no trains running throughout the country due to an NS strike, there is no exceptional traffic congestion on the road on Tuesday morning. A spokesperson for the ANWB told NU.nl.
Just before 8:00 AM, there are more than 600 kilometers of traffic jams, but that number does not surprise the ANWB. “You could say it looks like a normal Tuesday,” the spokesperson says.
It is slightly busier than usual on a Tuesday at this time of year, but not noticeably so. The ANWB expects the peak to be reached around 8:15 AM, but does not think there will be a huge outlier.
The strike at the NS, which means that no trains are running throughout the Netherlands, therefore seems to have little influence on traffic congestion. On Sunday, Rijkswaterstaat called on road users to avoid the rush hour as much as possible because of the strike.
It is “very quiet” on major stations such as Rotterdam Central, Utrecht Central and Amsterdam Central on Tuesday morning, reports an NS spokesperson. The spokesperson does see people walking around at Rotterdam Central. From that station, among other things, the metro goes to The Hague.
The strikes on Tuesday are part of a longer series of actions. On Friday, virtually no NS trains ran throughout the country. After 4.5 months of negotiations, the NS and the trade unions have not yet agreed on a new collective labor agreement. Trade unions FNV and VVMC have announced more regional strikes.
There will be a strike in the northwest and east of the Netherlands on Thursday. On Monday, June 16, NS employees will stop work in North and South Netherlands. A national strike may follow on Tuesday, June 17.