Eurostar Temporarily Closing Two High-Speed Rail Routes

Route closures are found in locations other than the United States, it seems.

According to recent reporting by Keith Fender for Trains, service will be temporarily suspended on two busy high-speed rail routes in Europe, from London to Amsterdam and London to Disneyland Paris.

“Despite objections from international high speed rail operator Eurostar and passenger groups, the Dutch government has agreed to a plan by state-owned infrastructure operator ProRail to suspend all Eurostar services in the Netherlands for up to a year beginning next summer,” writes Keith.

Eurostar will not be able to operate in Amsterdam while the city’s main train station undergoes renovations, according to the article. The route will be truncated to end in Brussels from June 2024 until May 2025, according to the plan.

“The Eurostar terminal at Amsterdam Centraal station, where security and immigration controls are undertaken, was built on the edge of the station in advance of the through services to London beginning in 2018, although ProRail plans to build new, expanded facilities,” adds Keith. “Even longer term, Prorail plans to build a dedicated Eurostar terminal alongside the existing Amsterdam Zuid (South) station, but this will not be ready until 2036.”

Earlier this month, Eurostar also suspended its route from London to Disneyland Paris, citing the need to rebuild its finances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Eurostar officials also claim to be burdened by a plan by the European Union to introduce a new electronic and biometric immigration system.

“Eurostar may re-introduce the Disney service in the future; the company says it will review its plans for 2024 later this year,” according to Keith.

Route closures on U.S. train systems have become common in recent years, with Los Angeles, New York City, Denver, and Washington, D.C. each navigating closures in recent years, for example. Train closures are to be expected in a country so devoted to car-centric planning, however. Policymakers and the public in Europe, by contrast, have been committing to train travel as a replacement for air travel to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector. France gained approval from the European Union to limit short-haul flights from Paris’ Orly Airport at the end of 2022, for example.

More details on the upheaval at Eurostar can be found at the article linked below.