If you fly to Thailand from Schiphol at the beginning of August and you plan to travel to the airport by train, you have to take delays into account.
In 2016, ProRail will be carrying out track renewals around Schiphol that may affect your train journey. Several track works will be carried out from Monday 1 to Tuesday 9 August. For example, new tracks are being built and points and signals are being installed and tested. Good accessibility of Schiphol is important for the sustainable development of the airport as an economic centre. Renewal of the rail connections is necessary to enable more train traffic to and from Schiphol in the future.
Consequences for your journey
Monday 1 to Tuesday 9 August
No train traffic is possible on the following routes:
- Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam South – Amsterdam RAI – Duivendrecht – Diemen South
- Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam South – Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA
You can use the R-Net bus lines R-300 and R-310.
Tuesday 2 August
On August 2, there will also be no train traffic on the Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam Sloterdijk route. NS buses run instead of trains.
Thursday 4 and Friday 5 August
There will also be no train traffic between Diemen Zuid and Weesp on 4 and 5 August. You can use the R-Net bus lines R-300 and R-310. In all cases, take into account an extra travel time of 15 to 30 minutes.
Planning activities in 2016
Work is also planned around Schiphol Airport in the periods below that may have consequences for your train journey. On this page we will keep you informed and more information will follow soon.
- Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September: Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam Sloterdijk and Schiphol Airport – Duivendrecht / Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA;
- Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 November: Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam Sloterdijk and Schiphol Airport – Duivendrecht / Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA.
Very practical to get this information, but the worst part is the almost daily unexpected delays, even failure of train connections on the way from North Limburg to Schiphol. How often are there malfunctions? I would have to transfer and take 2 hours during rush hour while I have a direct connection of 1 hour to Dusseldorf Airport and don't have to go through a tunnel with an increased risk of disruptions and delays. I also never read about delays and cancellations of services to Dusseldorf. I also read nothing about long queues of people waiting for stricter checks.
As a Dutchman, then don't use a Dutch airport, not even in Belgium, but near the eastern neighbours.
About 14 days ago I had this letter posted in the Telegraaf:
“I always book a distant holiday, departing from Schiphol. To avoid problems at the NS and at customs, I always leave so early that I arrive at Schiphol 4 hours before the departure of the plane, provided there are no problems en route. In March, unfortunately, that didn't help. I come from East Brabant and travel via Eindhoven-den Bosch, etc. From den Bosch I was forced to take a taxi to Schiphol in order to arrive on time, because there was a problem at Utrecht. Since then I've been keeping track of the malfunctions almost daily. Well, I can tell you: literally not a day goes by without a malfunction somewhere between Eindhoven and Schiphol. I would therefore strongly advise people from East Brabant and Limburg who go on holiday and leave via Schiphol to be taken and to stop relying on the NS. But I think Mr. Prorail does not live in this part of the Netherlands, and moreover he apparently does not know at all how many problems occur daily within his organization. It is a pity that we can no longer reach Schiphol – just about the most important destination in the Netherlands – properly.”
Of course some people fell over me, they probably work for the NS themselves, but also afterwards: not a day goes by without a sudden malfunction on this route.