Two direct train services a day between The Hague and Brussels will partly replace the suspended Fyra high-speed services, junior transport minister Wilma Mansveld has announced.

The service will start on February 18 and means there is no direct link between Amsterdam and the Belgian capital, apart from the Thalys high-speed service. Thalys is owned by the Belgian, French and German railways.

The Dutch railway network is too congested to allow intercity trains from Amsterdam to Belgium, Mansveld said. Instead, travellers should either use Thalys or take the Fyra service to Rotterdam (which uses a different sort of train) and then pick up an intercity service.

Damage

The Belgian and Dutch railways which operate the Fyra service say they hope to have solved the safety problems within three months.

Fyra services were suspended after three trains were damaged by snow and ice during the cold snap. The new service started in December, replacing slower intercity trains, and was beset by delays and breakdowns since then.

The new The Hague to Brussels intercity service will be stepped up to eight trains a day from March 11.