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, Greater Anglia, and the Rotterdam metro and bus company Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram.

History

The Dutchflyer service is a successor to former boat trains such as the London & North Eastern Railway Hook Continental service, which operated between London and the Netherlands from 1927 to 1987.
Originally, the Dutchflyer brand was only used to market the service to passengers starting in the UK, while in the Netherlands the service was advertised as "GoLondon". Nowadays the Dutchflyer brand is not used as prominently and the service is sold through the Dutch Stena Line website.

Booking

The Dutchflyer service lets passengers travel from any UK railway station served by Greater Anglia to , and then cross the North Sea by Stena Line ferry. Before March 2022, the ticket also included the journey after arrival at to any station in the Netherlands : since then, the ticket for the Dutch rail portion has to be purchased separately.

Train services

Trains to and from London and are timed to meet the ferry.
After arriving in Hook of Holland, passengers disembark across from the station of the Rotterdam Metro, slightly moved from the historical railway station. The metro connects to train stations at Schiedam Centrum railway station, Rotterdam Blaak railway station, and Rotterdam Alexander railway station, all of which feature intercity services to many destinations in the Netherlands. An example is shown in this table for a connection by metro from Hook of Holland to Schiedam and then to The Hague or Amsterdam, or stations in between.
OperatorTrain TypeRouteRolling StockFrequency
Greater AngliaLocal trainClass 7201 per hour
Greater AngliaBoat trainClass 7204 per day
Greater AngliaBoat train/ – Class 7552 per day
Stena LineShipHarwich International harbour – Hook of Holland harbourStena Hollandica
Stena Britannica
2 per day
Rotterdam Metro Line BMetroBombardier Flexity Swift3 per hour
Nederlandse SpoorwegenIntercity – - VIRM4 per hour