Travellers across the Netherlands faced major rail chaos on Tuesday morning after what infrastructure operator Prorail is treating as likely sabotage. Disruptions were reported at 24 locations, hitting services hardest around the central cities of Zwolle, Deventer and Amersfoort, with knock-on effects reaching into the busy western corridor of the country.
Prorail spokesperson Joke van der Cruysen told the Associated Press that material had been found at several sites and appeared to have been deliberately placed on the tracks. Crews were instructed to handle the debris carefully — gloves on, everything preserved — so police can check for fingerprints. A police investigation is underway, though no suspects have been named and no claim of responsibility has surfaced so far.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on the Dutch rail network every day, and Tuesday was Prinsjesdag — the day the government presents its annual budget in The Hague, drawing thousands of extra visitors to watch the royal family process through the city in horse-drawn carriages. National railway NS warned passengers it could not say how long full services would take to return to normal.
For anyone travelling in the Netherlands this week, the practical advice is straightforward: check the NS app or website before heading to a station, build in extra time for intercity journeys, and expect residual delays even after the tracks are cleared, as backlogged trains and crews get repositioned. The central and eastern rail corridors — Zwolle and Amersfoort are key interchange hubs — tend to cascade delays across the whole network when something goes wrong there.
It is also a reminder for visitors of how rail-dependent the Netherlands is. With its compact size and dense timetable, almost everyone gets around by train, so an incident like this is felt nationwide within minutes rather than being a local inconvenience. If you are heading to The Hague for the budget-day festivities or connecting through Schiphol, alternative options like intercity buses exist but are far slower and more crowded on days like this.
Story via Daily Sabah Travel.