Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Netherlands Braces for Fresh Snow as NS Scales Back Friday Trains and Qbuzz Suspends Early Buses in the North

Operators brace for heavy northern snow Friday as a deep freeze looms through the weekend.

Overview

  • NS will run a reduced timetable on Friday with at least two trains per hour on core routes, decoupling northern services at Zwolle and canceling Eurocity Direct to contain knock-on delays.
  • KNMI and Rijkswaterstaat have issued code orange for Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe and the Wadden until midday Friday, with code yellow elsewhere and advice to avoid non‑essential travel.
  • Qbuzz will not operate buses in the three northern provinces from just after midnight until 09:00 Friday pending safety checks, while Arriva trims most northern lines to one train per hour and other regional tweaks vary by operator.
  • After days of suspensions, buses, trams and trains have largely restarted in several regions on reduced or shuttle patterns, including pendel buses around Utrecht, with local services like waste collection resuming in stages.
  • Provinces report 24/7 ploughing and gritting with priority routes maintained and salt stocks adequate, ANWB roadside assistance is scaling up staff, many Drenthe schools shift to online lessons, and forecasters expect 5 to 15 centimeters of northern snow with drifting followed by severe frost down to about −10 to −14 °C.