The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued a travel advisory for Britons travelling to the Netherlands following a fire near Rotterdam Central station that severely disrupted Eurostar services. The blaze, which erupted last Monday in a cable duct near Rotterdam Stadion, triggered a substantial power failure that halted rail traffic south of Rotterdam, cancelling numerous London–Amsterdam services.
Disruption Details
The power cut disabled signalling and switch systems between Rotterdam Centraal and destinations including Dordrecht and Breda. Eurostar has advised that trains will be disrupted until at least 6 July 2026, with significantly longer journey times due to alternative routes. Trains between London and Amsterdam will not stop at Rotterdam, and trains between France/Belgium and Amsterdam will not stop at Schiphol or Rotterdam. Seat availability is very limited.
One affected passenger posted online: "Completely messed up my travel plans, ended up getting the ferry." Another commented: "We had to take the coach to Brussels. I hope we will get our refund."
FCDO Statement
An FCDO statement released on Monday said: "Eurostar services between the UK and the Netherlands are severely disrupted following a fire near Rotterdam Central station. Eurostar has advised that they expect trains to be disrupted until at least 6 July 2026. Travel times are expected to be significantly longer due to trains having to take alternative routes due to fire damage and trains between London and Amsterdam will not stop in Rotterdam. If you are planning to travel between the UK and the Netherlands, check the latest information with your travel operator before you travel and the latest updates on the Eurostar website."
Eurostar's Advice
Eurostar stated: "Due to fire damage to the railway near Rotterdam, we expect our trains to be disrupted until at least 6 July 2026. Trains running between London and Amsterdam will not stop at Rotterdam and trains running between France/Belgium and Amsterdam will not stop at Schiphol or Rotterdam. As these trains need to take an alternative route around the damaged area, journey times will be significantly longer, and seat availability is very limited. We apologise for the inconvenience the situation has caused."
Other Travel Advisories
This warning follows the FCDO issuing updated travel guidance for Greece on Thursday, July 2, cautioning that "terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Greece." While no travel warnings against visiting Greece are in place, the FCDO noted that "attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreign nationals." The FCDO outlined: "There have been several attacks involving explosives and automatic weapons against Greek institutions, shopping malls, banks, media offices, diplomatic premises and the police." On Wednesday, July 1, three improvised incendiary device attacks against residential properties of Greek political figures killed one person and injured four others.
