Channel
Tunnel rail operator Eurostar and the national rail operator of the Netherlands
signed an agreement to launch direct twice-daily services between London and
Amsterdam from 2016. The two companies said the journey will take around four
hours, stopping en route in Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam's Schiphol
Airport.
The
service requires ratification by the Dutch parliament. Assuming that happens,
it will mark the first expansion of Eurostar to a major business destination
since 1994, when the company launched original services from London to Brussels
and Paris. Eurostar said the London-Amsterdam route is Europe's largest
cross-border air market, attracting more than 3 million passengers annually.
The company is spending £700 million on new trains, which will be used on the
Amsterdam service and to refurbish the existing fleet.
Deutsche
Bahn in 2016 also is scheduled to launch cross-Channel services from
London. It has not yet confirmed routes, but previously has said it is
considering service to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Cologne.