Code amber across most of NL as winter weather disrupts travel

Beds at Schiphol for stranded passengers. Photo: Michel van Bergen ANP

The KNMI weather bureau has issued a code amber weather warning across almost the entire Netherlands for Wednesday morning, saying heavy snow and strong winds will continue to disrupt travel.

At least 800 flights at Schiphol have been cancelled and travellers are being urged to stay at home if possible. Hundreds of camp beds were set up in departure halls on Tuesday night for passengers who have nowhere to go.

The winter weather is also causing widespread problems on the rail network. On Tuesday evening, no trains were running between Amsterdam’s main railway station and the airport.

Elsewhere, fewer trains were running on routes including Groningen to Leeuwarden and Arnhem to Winterswijk, while there were no trains to and from Weesp and no fast services between Heerlen and Maastricht.

NS will again operate a reduced winter timetable on Wednesday and is advising passengers to check their journey shortly before departure.

Local public transport has also been affected. In Utrecht and The Hague, no buses will run on Wednesday but trams will be in operation. In Rotterdam, there will be no city bus services.

In Amsterdam, transport officials say they expect all services to operate but that travellers should expect delays.

Widespread problems are expected on the roads and the infrastructure ministry’s highways department has urged people to work from home if possible on Wednesday.

Weather forecasters expect up to 10 centimetres of snow to fall over parts of the country on Wednesday morning. The code amber weather warning applies to the entire country apart from Limburg and the Wadden Sea islands.

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