Amsterdam to London by train? Next year, you’ll face a six-month wait

Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue – and what it means for you.

Barry Freeman was waiting on the platform at Amsterdam Centraal when the first Eurostar train from London St Pancras drew in. Back in February 2018, the British expatriate with an interest in rail excellence recognised the significance of the event. One of the key international air markets in Europe, linking the capitals of the UK and the Netherlands, was now an intercity rail route.

London-Brussels-Rotterdam-Amsterdam was a dream trip for rail passengers keen to reach the Netherlands without the hassle of flying or (for those who stick to terrestrial travel) changing from train to ship and back again.

It was, initially, only a one-way miracle. The big problem: Eurostar relies on juxtaposed border controls. All continent-bound travellers are cleared into the European Union while still at London St Pancras International. Five years ago, when the UK was still pretending to be in the EU, that was no problem: French frontier officials simply checked that every British passenger had a valid passport, and that it belonged to them. Inbound from Amsterdam, though, it took time to create a space inside the beautiful-but-constrained Centraal station for the mandatory security checks and passport formalities.

Then the UK government “got Brexit done” – and successfully negotiated for British travellers to have the same status as people from Tonga and Venezuela, vis à vis the European Union. The EU delivered exactly what we asked for: that every UK citizen must have their passport scrutinised for evidence of overstaying, and stamped.

The British decision took effect in 2021 and multiplied the time taken for each UK traveller. As a result, Eurostar must cap passenger numbers on trains leaving Amsterdam for London.

Now the Dutch want to renovate Amsterdam Centraal. The British did the same with another 19th-century gem, London St Pancras – but had the huge advantage of Eurostar trains running in and out of London Waterloo until the new terminus was good and ready.

Such is the scale of the work at the Dutch end of the route that the security-plus-passports operation required to board passengers for London has…