Train travel in the Netherlands is a very good way to explore the country. The Netherlands has a dense and well-maintained railway network. Trains run between almost all major cities and towns. The Netherlands has a high speed line from Schiphool Airport to Rotterdam and and then onto the border with Belgium. This line is used by Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to Paris and London.
Last updated: 01.06.2024
The first railway in the Netherlands was inaugurated on 20 September 1839. A train hauled by a steam locomotive De Arend left Amsterdam and arrived to Haarlem. The train covered a distance of 19 kilometers in 30 minutes.
In 1847 a railway line reached Rotterdam.
In 1853 the railway from Aachen to Maastricht was completed.
In 1938 state-owned company Nederlandse Spoorwegen was founded.
On 7 September 2009 high-speed railway HSL-Zuid with total length 125 km was opened.
Train travel in the Netherlands – domestic trains
The train is the main means of transport in the Netherlands. Trains run often on working days (less frequently on weekends and public holidays), thanks to fast services it is easy to get from one end of the country to the other. Passenger trains are operated mainly by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). Average speed is generally limited to 130–140 kilometres per hour on main lines. The maximum speed on the high-speed HSL Zuid line is 300 kilometres per hour. The company ProRail is responsible for an infrastructure.
Nederlandse Spoorwegen company transports more than 1 million travelers and launches approximately 4800 trains per day.
Useful websites:
ns.nl – Nederlandse Spoorwegen; official website; search engine, online shop
arriva.nl – Arriva Nederland (regional operator)
keolis.nl – Keolis Nederland (regional operator)
rnet.nl – Rnet (regional operator)
Railway map of Netherlands (Wikimedia)
Trains in the Netherlands are generally fast, clean and comfortable, although they can be overcrowded during rush hours.
There are four categories of the trains in the Netherlands:
Sprinter – local and regional trains. Stops at all station, some of them have no toilet on board.
Intercity – regional and interregional train. These trains stop at larger stations only.
Stoptrein – local and regional trains. The category of train used by private operators.
Sneltrein – local and regional trains. The category used by Arriva Nederland.
There is a Intercity Direct category for trains between Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport and Rotterdam Centraal. Even if you have a ticket for this route, Intercity Direct service requires payment of a supplement.
Most popular routes:
Amsterdam – Utrecht
Amsterdam – Rotterdam
Amsterdam – Groningen
Holland Travel Ticket
Train tickets are expensive. NS offers several discounts and promotions. Tourists should be interested in the Holland Travel Ticket offer – a one-day network ticket (pass) that allows you to travel by train, bus, tram and metro throughout the Netherlands. Two ticket variants are available:
1) Off-peak Holland Travel Ticket for € 48 and travel with it on weekdays, except between 06:30 and 09:00. Valid all day at weekends and public holidays.
2) More expensive Holland Travel Ticket which allows you to travel for € 70 by train, bus, tram and metro any day of the week, including peak hours.
The Holland Travel Ticket is not valid for Eurostar and Nightjet. If you can travel by ICE train, you need to pay a supplement.
The similar offer is a NS Day Ticket which allows to unlimited travel by train until 04:00 the next morning, but you can travel only by train.
Heritage railways in the Netherlands
There are several interesting heritage railways in the Netherlands. Some of them are known to railway enthusiasts all over the world. Trains on the museum railway lines do not run regularly. Interrail tickets and state rail tickets are not valid. A separate tariffs applies.
Most famous are Staadskanal oder Stroom – vintage trains between Veendam and Stadskanaal or Musselkanaal on a 26-kilometer route (the longest steam railway in the country) and Museum Stoomtram between Hoorn and Medemblik on a 15-kilometer route.
Heritage railways in the Netherlands – a comprehensive guide
Narrow-gauge railways in the Netherlands
Almost the entire railway network of the Netherlands is based on a gauge of 1,435 mm. There are several narrow-gauge railways in the country. Active narrow-gauge railways in the Netherlands are most often remnants of former brick railways and peat railways. Trains on the narrow-gauge lines do not run regularly.
Most popular is a narrow-gauge railway in the open-air museum (Veenpark) in Barger-Compascuum, near Emden and the Dutch-German border. Noteworthy is also the RTM Ouddorp – a narrow-gauge railway on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee near Rotterdam.
Narrow-gauge railways in the Netherlands – a comprehensive guide
Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht
One of the biggest tourist attractions in Utrecht is the Dutch Railway Museum (Het Spoorwegmuseum Utrecht), located in the historic Utrecht Maliebaan station building. The museum is one of the largest railway museums in Europe.
The museum was founded in 1927 and has been operating in its current building since 1954. The collection of locomotives, carriages, and trainsets is impressive and the museim is popular not only among railway enthusiasts.
The museum exhibits nearly all the vehicles that have run on the Dutch Railways (NS) network . It receives very good reviews online and is extremely popular among tourists.
Utrecht Maliebaan station can be reached by suburban train from Utrecht Centraal station.
Dutch Railway Museum – official website
Euregio Ticket
If you want to travel by regional trains between border regions of Germany, Netherlands a Belgium there is a perfect cheap one-day ticket for unlimited travels through the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine. You can visit for example: Aachen (Germany), Maastricht (Netherlands), Liege, Verviers and Spa (Belgium).
The ticket is valid only in 2nd class.
The ticket allows you unlimited use of public transport throughout the European Region: Liège, Limbourg, Aachen and Maastricht. De Lijn has five lines running from (Belgian) Limburg to Maastricht.
Belgium: SNCB, De Lijn (except express lines), TEC Verviers and TEC Liège
Germany: DB, Aachener Verkehrsverbund and the district of Euskirchen
The Netherlands: NS and Arriva
– ticket is valid for 1 person weekdays only
– ticket valid for up to a maximum of 5 people (2 adults and 3 children under 12) Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
Euregio-Ticket – more information and validity (SNCB)
Euregio-Ticket – more information and map of validity (NS)
Train travel in the Netherlands – international trains
There are numerous long-distance and regional trains running between the Netherlands and neighboring countries. International trains are operated by many railway operators from various countries.
Austria
There is a night train from Vienna to Amsterdam. Train has seating carriages, sleeping carriages and couchettes. The connection is relatively expensive; tickets can be purchased on shop.oebbtickets.at
Belgium
The Netherlands and Belgium have numerous railway crossings, but not all of them are used in passenger traffic. There are following trains between countries:
Brussels – Amsterdam (NS International + Eurostar)
Liege – Maastricht (Intercity)
Roosendaal – Puurs via Antwerp (regional)
It is worth noting that the Brussels – Amsterdam trains have changed their route – they used to go through Roosendaal and Dordrecht, now they go through Breda.
Tickets are available on www.b-europe.com
In addition, one-day Euregioticket network tickets are available for the Euroregion covering areas around Liege, Maastricht and Aachen. At the time of writing the article, the ticket cost 21.70 euros (2024).
belgiantrain.be – additional information
France and United Kingdom
There are Eurostar (former Thalys) trains from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels. These trains use only Dutch high-speed line. Tickets are generally expensive, but if you buy in advance, the price is sometimes much lower.
Eurostar also served the route from Amsterdam to London.
eurostar.com – Eurostar; official website and online shop.
Germany
There are a numerous trains between the Netherlands and Germany. Very popular are long distance Intercity trains from Amsterdam do Berlin (via Cologne and Hannover) and ICE trains from Amsterdam to Frankfurt am Main.
Deutsche Bahn – journey planner and online shop
There are local trains on the routes:
Groningen – Weener (bus replacement)
Maastricht – Aachen
Interregional trains run from Venlo to Hamm and Hengelo to Bielefeld. These trains are operated by Eurobahn.
eurobahn.de – Eurobahn – official website
European Sleeper train
The overnight train from Bruxelles to Prague via Amsterdam, Berlin and Dresden . FEuropean Sleeper train is cheaper than Nightjet trains (based-price tickets) but carriages are older and less comfortable. Train has seating carriages with compartments, couchette cars and sleeping cars.
European Sleeper – official website
Luxembourg
There are no direct trains between Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Passengers from Luxembourg need to change trains in Liege or Bruxelles.
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