A new train service that will take passengers from Brussels to Amsterdam 45 minutes faster than before will be launched at the end of this year. However, some are concerned it will only service Brussels-Midi station (and not the other two major stations).
The highly anticipated Intercity New Generation (ICNG) from Brussels to Amsterdam will be launched by the Dutch (NS) and Belgian (SNCB) railway operators at the end of this year, slightly earlier than anticipated.
Once the new service is activated, it will double the number of Intercity trains between the Netherlands and the Belgian capital from 16 to 32 per day, as it comes on top of an existing intercity connection (the current Beneluxtrain). Including the current Eurostar trains, 47 trains a day are expected to run between the Netherlands and Brussels.
The newest version of the train will travel on the high-speed line at a maximum speed of 200 km per hour, bringing passengers from the Belgian capital to the Dutch capital in about two hours – more than 40 minutes faster than at present (max 160 km/hour).
NS has been working to deploy new rolling stock that reaches 200 km/h on the high-speed line to limit the travel time, but it is also scrapping several stops for this purpose.
Leaving out stops
The fast intercity between Brussels-Midi and Amsterdam will only stop at Antwerp-Central, Rotterdam-Central and Schiphol (the country's biggest airport). The new intercity will also only run to Amsterdam-Zuid instead of the Dutch capital's central station. However, NS stressed that passengers can easily take the tram or metro to Amsterdam city centre from the Zuid station.
In Brussels, meanwhile, will skip the Brussels-North and Brussels-Central stations, only stopping in Brussels-Midi. Travellers' organisation TreinTramBus are strongly in favour of the new train, stating there is "definitely demand for a fast train connection between Brussels and Amsterdam", but told Bruzz it has several concerns about the train only stopping once in Brussels.
"We ask that that be reconsidered. Brussels-North is an important transfer station to the rest of Belgium, and Brussels-Central remains the main destination for tourists and travellers to the city centre," spokesperson Kees Smilde said.
Both stations will still be served by the older Intercity train service to the Netherlands, which also stops at Brussels Airport-Zaventem, Mechelen and Breda, but this service will be shortened to Rotterdam-Central rather than carrying on to Amsterdam, meaning the direct connection between Brussels-Central and Amsterdam-Central will cease to exist.
Smilde is also concerned about what impact the new connection could have on domestic train traffic in Belgium, and whether this additional service means a domestic intercity between Antwerp and Brussels would have to skip several stops or even be scrapped completely.
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SNCB said it was too early to give a definite answer, adding that it had submitted the timetable for approval in April, in which it requested train paths for four IC trains per hour, as is the case now. Infrabel is reportedly studying this scenario.
Finally, while the train will fall under the so-called "NS concession" in the Netherlands, meaning domestic travellers can board the new train in Rotterdam to travel to Amsterdam for the price of a normal ticket, the fast train is not fully integrated into the domestic train offer in Belgium, making it unclear whether domestic travellers between Brussels and Antwerp, for example, will be allowed to board it.
