Dutchflyer

Dutchflyer is an integrated passenger service between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Formerly known as Amsterdam Express, Dutchflyer is a rail/sea/rail service operated jointly by Stena Line, the Dutch state railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the Rotterdam metro and bus company Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram and NS’ UK subsidiary Greater Anglia.[1]

Dutchflyer
Map of the Dutch Flyer rail & sea route
over the North Sea
Main region(s)London, East Anglia, South Holland, North Holland
Parent companyGreater Anglia
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram
Stena Line
Other
Websitewww.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/rail-and-sail/holland/
Route map

History

The Dutchflyer service is a successor to former boat trains such as the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) Hook Continental service, which operated between London and the Netherlands from 1927 to 1987.[2]

Originally, the Dutchflyer brand was only used to market the service to passengers starting in the UK,[3] while in the Netherlands the service was advertised as "GoLondon".[4] Nowadays the Dutchflyer brand is not used so prominently and the service is sold through the Dutch Stena Line website.[5]

Booking

The Dutchflyer service lets passengers travel from any UK railway station served by Greater Anglia to Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay), cross the North Sea by Stena Line ferry, and continue, after arrival at Hoek van Holland Haven to any station in the Netherlands (or in the reverse direction). Trains to and from London and Cambridge are timed to meet the ferry.

Train services
An Abellio Greater Anglia train at Harwich station
The "Stena Hollandica" ferry at Hoek van Holland
A Rotterdam Metro train at Hoek van Holland Haven station

After arriving in Hoek van Holland, passengers disembark right into the railway station, which is now part of the Rotterdam Metro. In Rotterdam passengers may change trains to go anywhere in the Netherlands. An example is shown in this table for a connection by rail from Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam and then to The Hague or Amsterdam, or stations in between.

Operator Train Type Route Rolling Stock Frequency
Greater Anglia Local train Manningtree – Harwich International Class 321/Class 360 1 per hour
Greater Anglia Boat train London Liverpool Street – Harwich International Class 321/Class 360 4 per day
Greater Anglia Boat train Cambridge/Norwich – Harwich International Class 755 2 per day
Stena Line Ship Harwich International harbour – Hoek van Holland harbour Stena Hollandica
Stena Britannica		 2 per day
Rotterdam Metro Line B Metro Hoek van Holland Haven – Schiedam Centrum Flexity Swift 3 per hour
Nederlandse Spoorwegen Intercity Schiedam Centrum – Amsterdam Centraal VIRM 4 per hour
Nederlandse Spoorwegen Intercity Direct Rotterdam Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal Traxx + ICR 5 per hour

See also

Notes
  1. "Stena Line Dutch Flyer". Stena Line website. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  2. Hughes, Geoffrey (1986). LNER. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. p. 152. ISBN 0 711014280.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. "Dutchflyer website (now defunct)". Archived from the original on 11 March 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  4. "GoLondon website (now defunct)". Archived from the original on 28 May 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. Dutch Stena Line website.
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