Eurostar from London to Amsterdam via Brussels and Antwerp in 2016

Eurostar has announced it will run trains from London to Amsterdam via the Channel Tunnel from December 2016 after reaching a deal with Dutch Railways, writes Bloomberg’s Chris Jasper. Trains from London will call at Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Schiphol airport before terminating at Amsterdam Central station, Eurostar said in a statement. With a journey time of about four hours and an initial two trains per day in each direction, the service will provide an alternative to the plane on a London-Amsterdam route that Eurostar said is the busiest international airline market in Europe, attracting more than 3 million passengers a year. “Today’s announcement marks a major advance in our growth plans,” Eurostar Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Petrovic said in the statement. “This is one of Europe’s most popular routes.” The expansion plan still requires Dutch parliamentary approval after a deal with the infrastructure ministry, he said.