In view of the current travel advice in the context of COVID-19, the practical implementation of the trial did not start on the previously planned date of 13 December 2020. NS is currently looking, in consultation with ÖBB, for a new date for the practical start of the night train service. taking into account the uncertain developments in the corona measures and the associated travel advice in the various countries. With the amendment of the concession and the subsidy decision, the legal frameworks for the trial, in anticipation of the actual start of the trial, have already been established.
This concerns the inclusion in the concession of the temporary trial until the end of 2024 with the extension of the night train Vienna / Innsbruck - Düsseldorf to Amsterdam and vice versa. Today, State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven informed the House of a change to the transport concession for the main rail network, which will come into effect on 13 January 2021. This concerns the inclusion in the concession of the temporary trial until the end of 2024 with the extension of the night train Vienna / Innsbruck - Düsseldorf to Amsterdam and vice versa, about which she informed the House last year.
At the same time as last year's State Secretary van Veldhoven's decision to make this trial possible in principle, she indicated that, during the course of the trial, she would explore in parallel with interested parties whether and how they could be encouraged to follow the Netherlands. to choose the trial as the destination for their night train. Van Veldhoven warmly applauds initiatives for new connections such as those of SBB, OBB, DB and SNCF for, among other things, a possible connection between Amsterdam and Zurich. Such initiatives can contribute to a greater range of attractive connections and my target of 2 million extra international travelers per year towards 2025.
Also read: Traveling by night train from Amsterdam to Zurich
