Rail service has been restricted in the Netherlands due to the heat and a storm

The Dutch railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) has announced a significant reduction in the number of trains on the country’s key routes. The service restrictions are due to extreme weather conditions and will remain in effect at least through Monday and Tuesday (June 29–30).

The rail system breakdown was the result of the combined impact of several natural factors:

• Effects of the heat: Due to abnormally high temperatures in recent days, numerous technical malfunctions in railroad switches have been reported, forcing the company to cancel some trains.

• Consequences of the storm: Severe nighttime thunderstorms caused trees and large branches to fall directly onto the tracks in several regions of the country.

• Lightning strike: Near the city of Gouda, a lightning strike completely disabled the railway system, blocking traffic on that section. This even caused problems with the delivery of special repair trains that were supposed to clear the disruptions.

NS is currently unable to predict whether it will be possible to fully restore the regular schedule after Tuesday. Passengers are strongly urged to plan their trips carefully and check the current schedule on official websites before departure. The heatwave that caused these delays has now spread across most of Europe—according to the WHO, more than 1,300 people have died on the continent in just one week due to extreme temperatures.

This was reported by the NL Times news portal.