Heavy snow and an IT failure brought the Netherlands transport system to a halt on Tuesday. Commuters were stranded on trains, buses, and major highways during the morning rush.
NS, the national rail operator, cancelled all trains until 10am after a system failure left staff unassigned under the winter timetable. Regional trains ran limited services, but frozen tracks caused further delays. NS confirmed the disruption was technical, not weather related, paralyzing the network at peak hours.
Roads were equally treacherous. A lorry crash on the A12 near De Meern caused two-hour delays. Rijkswaterstaat reported 300km of tailbacks and warned that black ice and falling snow would make driving unsafe. Drivers were urged to exercise extreme caution.
Schiphol Airport cancelled 350 flights Tuesday morning, marking the third consecutive day of disruption. Bus services in Flevoland and Utrecht were also suspended due to icy conditions. Passengers were forced to arrange their own transport and accommodations amid widespread chaos.
Temperatures dropped below minus 10C in parts of Noord-Brabant. The KNMI issued a yellow warning for fog, with visibility reduced to under 100 metres in some regions.
Tuesday’s disruption highlights the vulnerability of the Netherlands’ transport system to extreme winter weather and technical failures. Commuters, businesses and logistics operations across the country were heavily affected.
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