On Tuesday, no NS trains will run throughout the country due to a strike by the unions. There are warnings of traffic congestion on the roads and with regional transport operators.
A strike had already been announced for Tuesday in, among other places, The Hague, Rotterdam, Leiden, Zeeland and part of West Brabant. On Sunday, the NS reported that the strike area had become too large and that national impact was unavoidable. As a result, no trains will run at all, with the exception of sprinters between Amsterdam and Schiphol.
Rijkswaterstaat is calling on road users to avoid the rush hour where possible on Tuesday. Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually the busiest days of the week on the road. Rijkswaterstaat expects a heavy rush hour for both the morning and evening rush hours. The ANWB also expects it to be busier on the road on Tuesday than usual.
Regional trains from other carriers, such as Arriva, Blauwnet, Qbuzz and Keolis, do run. However, they expect extra crowds due to the strike. “We are not on strike. Our buses will therefore run as normal on Tuesday,” reports Syntus Utrecht, for example. “Due to the strike, it may be busier than usual. Please take this into account.”
Connexxion, which provides bus transport in parts of the Western Netherlands, also reports that the NS strike may cause extra congestion in the company’s vehicles. Keolis emphasizes that there is no strike at the regional carriers and that the Keolis trains run according to schedule. These trains run between Amersfoort and Ede-Wageningen, Zwolle and Enschede and Zwolle and Kampen.
Strike in the northwest and east of the country on Thursday
It is still unclear what impact the strike will have on international trains on Tuesday. The trains are expected to run as much as possible according to the regular timetable on Wednesday. However, there may still be disruption on Wednesday morning.
The strikes on Tuesday are part of a longer series of actions. On Friday, virtually no NS trains ran in the entire country. After 4.5 months of negotiations, the NS and the unions have not yet agreed on a new collective labor agreement. Trade unions FNV and VVMC have announced more regional strikes.
On Thursday there will be a strike in the northwest and east of the Netherlands. On Monday 16 June, NS employees will stop work in North and South Netherlands. A national strike may follow on Tuesday 17 June.