UK and Netherlands link restored, official reopening of Hook of Holland train

Saturday, November 2, 2019

The late-running project to reconnect a key ferry link from the UK with the European rail network officially reopens today – to criticism that railway heritage has been lost.

A key ferry link from the UK with the European rail network has officially reopened today. The historic crossing from Harwich to Hook of Holland in the Netherlands could now be accessed by the passengers who can choose from an array of express trains deep into Europe.

They have to board a tram that runs on lien B of the Rotterdam metro network and then change to the Dutch railway network.

Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries  in their book Europe by Rail described the link on a journey from Rotterdam to the UK and onwards to Ireland.

They wrote it is odd to depart on such an ambitious journey on a local metro tram and there’s mo such things as a grand exit via Hook of Holland.

In 1893 the Dutch port’s rail station opened and turned into a continental hub for destinations in Denmark, Poland and Switzerland. The Hook of Holland also served as a starting point for the Orient Express after the Second World War.

After the station opened the final Watszawa Express to the Polish capital departed after 100 years. Since 1993 the services have dwindled further and a decade ago the Boat Train to Amsterdam, was abandoned.

In 2017, the railway lines was closed and it was intended to be a six-month project to convert it to a stop on the Rotterdam Metro.

The connecting bus for passengers arriving by ferry from Harwich had to run for two year which was longer than expected.

Every 20 minutes the new tram runs and the journey time is 34 minutes from Beurs Station in central Rotterdam.

The city’s central station is not being served although some long-distance trains are accessible through the intermediate station, Schiedam.

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• Hook of Holland to restart services in September