The Dutch FNV trade union has announced a strike at the ProRail traffic control posts in Amsterdam and Alkmaar this Wednesday. The impact of this strike is greater than the strike area.
As a result, NS did not run any trains in North Holland and parts of Flevoland and Utrecht between 06:00 and 09:00 on Wednesday morning. There were also be no trains running between Leiden, Schiphol and Haarlem. No train traffic was possible on the High Speed Line (HSL) between Rotterdam, Schiphol and Amsterdam.
After the strike at ProRail this morning, NS has just started the timetable. At 9:08, the first train left Amsterdam Central: the ICE with destination Frankfurt. And at 9:10, the first sprinter left Amsterdam Central to Amersfoort Vathorst. More and more trains will be added in the course of the morning.
Early afternoon, the trains are expected to run according to the timetable again. Schiphol Airport station remained accessible during the strike thanks to the shuttle train.
Tim van Leeuwen, Director of Operation Control NS, explained why the ProRail strike affects a greater area.
“The strike areas are relatively small, but our trains often travel further than this area. We travel from Groningen to Rotterdam and from Maastricht to Den Helder. On a normal day, we also travel many trains from all over the country to various destinations in North Holland. Just like today. This also means that many trains end in North Holland on Tuesday evening.
For example, these trains would be on their way to Maastricht and Nijmegen tomorrow morning. But because of the strike, that is not possible: all train traffic in North Holland has come to a standstill. The same applies to the drivers and conductors who would be manning the trains. They are based in Den Helder, for example, but everything has come to a standstill there. In short; if the train from Den Helder to Maastricht cannot go to Utrecht, it will not go to Maastricht either,” said Tim van Leeuwen.
ProRail Strike
The strikes are prompted by the stalling of collective labor agreement negotiations between FNV and ProRail. “ProRail employees have the right to strike. At the same time, NS is annoyed by the inconvenience this causes to travelers”, the company says.
More strike days have been announced by FNV.
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