The Dutch section of the high speed rail link between Amsterdam and Paris will be delayed by months, Tuesday’s Volkskrant reports anonymous sources as saying. It was due to open on December 10 but the locomotives will not be ready in time because Canadian manufacturer Bombardier does not yet have a working safety system in place, the sources say.

Transport minister Camiel Eurlings has not yet informed parliament of the delay, the Volkskrant says. In a letter to MPs on Monday the minister said recognised that the risk of a postponement had grown because of technical problems.
The Telegraaf reports on Tuesday that Dutch Rail (NS) has submitted a damages claim of tens of millions of euros to the transport ministry because of the delays. The €5bn project to build the Dutch end of the high-speed link should have been operational a year ago, the paper says.