TWO popular journeys are facing a three-week long shutdown – causing disruption to travellers' plans.
Routes between and Amsterdam Central Station and Rotterdam have been suspended from March 29 to April 22.
A statement from Eurostar said: “No direct trains will run between London and Amsterdam or Rotterdam between 29 March and 22 April due to essential works at Amsterdam Centraal.”
It will still be possible for passengers make the journey to the Netherlands via a change at Brussels-Midi/Zuid station.
The direct services will return from April 23.
The essential works involve a strategic partnership between (formerly HS1) and Eurotunnel, hoping to boost high-speed rail connectivity between the UK and Europe.
London St. Pancras Highspeed CEO, Robert Sinclair, said: “Joining forces with Eurotunnel is another exciting step on our journey to realise a future where high-speed rail is the preferred option for travelling to Europe.”
The project aims to create “a fully connected Europe”, by making travel between Britain and the rest of Europe faster and more affordable by 2030.
It also hopes to incentivise expansion of Europe's rail network, by encouraging other train operators to develop new routes with London.
Potential for other direct routes from London include cities like Frankfurt, Zurich, Milan and more in the South of France.
These plans follow findings that St. Pancras has ‘untapped potential' in the service of high-speed rail across the English Channel, to increase passenger capacity from 1,800 to nearly 5,000 per hour.
The partnership between the two companies wants to “make travel the preferred transport option to the continent”, and actively collaborate with governments on the environmental benefits of rail travel under six hours.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on Channel Tunnel rail services since it launched over 30 years ago in 1994.
Introduction of new train operators on these routes could provide benefits to passengers which the Eurostar does not currently facilitate, like allowing pets on board under the PETS travel scheme, and making it easier for cyclists to book.
Operators like the Virgin Group, and new Spanish service Evolyn, which has UK National Express investors, are among those seeking to capitalise on the station's proposed expansion.
