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Dutchflyer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dutchflyer rail boat
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-to-holland/rail-and-sail
Route map

National Rail Cambridge
Dullingham
Newmarket
Kennett
Norwich National Rail
Bury St Edmunds
Thurston
Elmswell
Diss
London Underground London Overground National Rail
London
Liverpool Street
Docklands Light Railway London Underground London Overground National Rail Stratford
Stowmarket
Shenfield
Chelmsford
Witham
Needham Market
Kelvedon
Marks Tey
Colchester
Ipswich
Manningtree
Harwich International

Hoek van Holland Haven
Amsterdam Centraal enlarge… w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Schiedam Centrum w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Rotterdam Centraal enlarge… w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen

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.[1]

History

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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 as prominently and the service is sold through the Dutch Stena Line website.[5]

Booking

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The Dutchflyer service lets passengers travel from any UK railway station served by Greater Anglia to Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay), and then cross the North Sea by Stena Line ferry. Before March 2022, the ticket also included the journey after arrival at Hoek van Holland Haven to any station in the Netherlands (or in the reverse direction): since then, the ticket for the Dutch rail portion has to be purchased separately.

Train services

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A Greater Anglia British Rail Class 321 at Harwich International station
The Stena Hollandica ferry at Hook of Holland
A Rotterdam Metro train at Hoek van Holland Haven station

Trains to and from London and Cambridge are timed to meet the ferry.

After arriving in Hook of Holland (Hoek van 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.

Operator Train Type Route Rolling Stock Frequency
Greater Anglia Local train ManningtreeHarwich International Class 720 1 per hour
Greater Anglia Boat train London Liverpool StreetHarwich International Class 720 4 per day
Greater Anglia Boat train Cambridge/LowestoftHarwich International Class 755 2 per day
Stena Line Ship Harwich International harbour – Hook of Holland harbour Stena Hollandica
Stena Britannica
2 per day
Rotterdam Metro Line B Metro Hoek van Holland HavenSchiedam Centrum Bombardier Flexity Swift 3 per hour
Nederlandse Spoorwegen Intercity Schiedam CentrumDen Haag Hollands Spoor - Amsterdam Centraal VIRM 4 per hour

See also

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Notes

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  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 Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 0-711014280.
  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 Archived 11 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
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