Dutch railway company NS sold 13% more tickets for international trains this year, taking four million passengers to a foreign destination, the state-owned company said on Monday.

In particular, the arrival of a direct link to Marne-la-Vallee near Disneyland has proved a boost, NS said. The number of passengers travelling to Bordeaux, Milan and even Barcelona by train rose 61%, 56% and 31% respectively, international train director Heike Luiten said.

‘In absolute terms, these may be small increases, involving just a few tens of thousands of passengers, but it is impressive growth,’ Luiten said.

Earlier this month, NS and Eurostar said they plan to launch more services between Amsterdam and London, so that train travel can better compete with short-haul flights.

Currently there are three direct services a day, with a break in Brussels for passport checks.

That is due to change in 2020, when four services a day will operate between the two capitals, and, once agreement has been reached, security checks are carried out in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Then, in 2021, NS hopes to add a fifth daily service offering a further 900 seats.