Train services to Schiphol airport will be drastically reduced from Monday to Friday, March 8 because work on the tracks is cutting capacity by 50%.

NS is warning travellers that they must expect busy trains, different departure times, more changes and long journeys. Peak period travel should also be avoided, NS said.

Next weekend – March 2 and 3 – there will be no trains at all between Amsterdam Centraal and Sloterdijk stations and the airport. Instead, passengers should take the metro to Zuid and pick up a train there, NS said.

The work includes renewing tracks and foundations and improvements to the escalators and stairs in preparation for the summer season. More work will be carried out at the end of March and in mid May.