While workers at Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) have managed to reach an agreement with the company and are no longer striking, workers over in Belgium are holding a three-day strike this week, which is also set to significantly impact some train routes here in the Netherlands.

Train unions in Belgium hold national three-day strike

This marks the second strike action so far this month, with Belgian unions protesting against the rising cost of energy and declining purchasing power, as they call for the salaries of workers to be increased. 

The current strike, which started at 10am on Tuesday morning and will last all the way through to 3am on Friday, December 2, will affect routes operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS) and Infrabel - the Belgian equivalents of NS and ProRail. 

NMBS expects that three-quarters of their services will be cancelled on Tuesday, with half of services cancelled on Wednesday. They have so far been unable to gauge how travel will be affected on Thursday. 

Dutch public transport also affected by Belgian strike

The national strike in Belgium will also affect some public transport services in the Netherlands, most notably the train routes that run between Belgian and Dutch cities. While Thalys and Eurostar services will run as normal, all Intercity services between Amsterdam and Brussels have been cancelled on Thursday. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, some services between Roosendaal and Antwerp, and Maastricht and Liège will also be cancelled as a result of the strike. The Intercity to Brussels is expected to be running as normal on Wednesday. For more information about how the strike might affect your travel plans, be sure to check the NS International website.