Dutch and Belgian national railway companies (NS and NMBS/SNCB) are doubling the number of Intercity trains between the Netherlands and Brussels from 16 to 32 per day. A new, fast connection will be added to the 2025 timetable. With that connection, travellers are about 45 minutes shorter on the road than now: just over two hours to connect Amsterdam to Brussels. NS is using the new Intercity (ICNG) for this purpose, which travels on the high-speed line at a maximum speed of 200 km per hour. This connection is in addition to an intercity connection between Rotterdam, Breda and Brussels.
Accelerate
The shorter travel time is possible due to faster trains, fewer intermediate stops and the new Amsterdam Zuid starting point, which is closer to the high-speed line than Amsterdam Central. NS has ordered new trains, especially for the Amsterdam South – Brussels South Midi connection. This train can run in the Netherlands and Belgium. There is room for 413 passengers on the train. These new trains fulfil a long-cherished wish of travellers for a fast Intercity connection between the two capitals. Travellers from, for example, Utrecht or The Hague can easily transfer to this new train. In the coming period, NS will work out further details, such as timetables and ticket prices, together with NMBS/SNCB.
Wouter Koolmees, CEO NS: “Every traveller who chooses the train as a means of transport to Brussels helps to combat climate change. It is our job to make the green option the easy option. Due to this major expansion, we are going to Brussels more often than ever and we are offering even more travellers the opportunity of a smooth international train journey.”
Double
In addition to the 16 trains from Amsterdam South, a train will also depart 16 times a day from Rotterdam Central to Brussels South Midi. This connection is now known as the Intercity Brussels from Amsterdam Central. This train runs from Rotterdam via Breda and continues to stop at all current intermediate stations. This means, for example, that the city of Mechelen remains directly connected to the Netherlands and travellers to and from Brussels airport retain a direct train. Travellers from The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam transfer via Rotterdam Central. The travel time for these travellers will remain comparable to the current connection.
Popular destination
In the first half of this year, Brussels was our most popular international destination. NS International has sold an average of 39,000 tickets per month to Brussels over the past six months. The number of tickets sold for Brussels is growing faster at NS on average than for other destinations. After Brussels, Antwerp follows as the most popular destination. NS International sold an average of 36,000 tickets per month to this city in the first half of 2023. With the arrival of these Intercity trains and the current Thalys trains, 47 trains per day are expected to run between the Netherlands and Brussels in the 2025 timetable.
August 14, 2023
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- Source: https://www.aviation24.be/railways/dutch-and-belgian-railways-to-double-the-number-of-trains-between-both-countries-and-make-them-faster/
