Rail travellers are being urged to avoid Utrecht’s main railway station on Monday morning because essential engineering work has not yet been completed.

This has halted trains on the Utrecht Geldermalsen route and led to reduced services elsewhere. Utrecht Central is the Netherlands’ busiest rail hub.

‘Services will not be normal until after the morning rush hour,’ a spokesman told NOS radio news.

More than 1,000 people have been working on the tracks at Utrecht for the past three days and tests on the new system have not yet been completed, forcing the delays, the spokesman said.