Rail commuters in central parts of the country are faced with widespread disruption on the trains on Thursday morning because of serious technical problems around Amsterdam.

Although Dutch Rail (NS) said the problems with the points and signalling systems were solved around 10.00 hours, it will be several hours before services to return to normal.
Travellers to Schiphol airport, Leiden, Almere, Utrecht and Rotterdam will also experience problems, the NS said on its website. Metro services in Amsterdam are operational and travellers can use the Fyra high speed train without paying a supplement.
‘We are sorry that no replacement bus services are available,’ the website said. According to the Telegraaf, taxi services are in short supply in Amsterdam as people try to reach Schiphol airport using alternative methods.
Some 500,000 people use the train to get to work in the Netherlands every day. The railway problems have had a knock-on effect on the roads, with heavier traffic and longer queues than on a normal Thursday, the Telegraaf said.