It concerns the routes to Brussels, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Berlin. These cities are less than 700 kilometers from Schiphol and can already be reached by train, but many travelers still go there by plane. Together, these destinations account for 14 percent of all flights that land and depart at the airport.
In the Action Agenda for Train and Aviation it explains for each of the six destinations what needs to be done to entice more travelers to take the train instead of the plane. This is also in the interests of KLM and Schiphol: it will free up more space at the airport for intercontinental flights. Moreover, they show that they contribute to sustainability.
One of the proposals is to have the ICE from Frankfurt and Düsseldorf and the Eurostar from London stop at Schiphol, so that travelers can transfer to the plane there. It then becomes attractive to sell combined train and flight tickets for those destinations including a transfer guarantee (so-called AirRail tickets), as has been the case for Brussels for some time.
Train frequencies must also be increased, luggage must be able to be checked in at the station and it is important that train tickets can be booked just as far in advance as airline tickets. Many of these measures are now being further investigated by the parties involved to see what exactly is needed for them and when they can be introduced.
For matters such as frequency and speed increases, it is often also necessary to invest in the rail infrastructure. It is up to the government to decide that and to make money available for it. Shortly before the elections to the House of Representatives and the subsequent formation, this action plan will again bring this to the attention of politicians.
View an overview of all proposals below:
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