Dutchflyer

Last updated

Dutchflyer Aiga railtransportation 25.svg BSicon BOOT.svg
DutchflyerOrangeLogo.svg
Dutch flyer north sea map.png
Map of the Dutch Flyer rail & sea route
over the North Sea
Main region(s) London, East Anglia, South Holland, North Holland
Parent company Greater Anglia
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram
Stena Line
Other
Website www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry-to-holland/rail-and-sail
Route map

Contents

National Rail logo.svg Cambridge
BSicon KINTa.svg
Dullingham
BSicon HST.svg
Newmarket
BSicon BHF.svg
Kennett
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon KINTa.svg
Norwich National Rail logo.svg
Bury St Edmunds
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Thurston
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Elmswell
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Diss
BSicon STR2.svg
BSicon STR+c3.svg
Underground no-text.svg Overground roundel (no text).svg National Rail logo.svg
London
Liverpool Street
BSicon STRc1.svg
BSicon KINTa.svg
BSicon ABZg+4.svg
DLR no-text roundel.svg Underground no-text.svg Overground roundel (no text).svg National Rail logo.svg Stratford
BSicon INT.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Stowmarket
Shenfield
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Chelmsford
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Witham
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Needham Market
Kelvedon
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Marks Tey
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Colchester
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Ipswich
Manningtree
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon INT.svg
BSicon STR3.svg
BSicon ABZg+1.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon INT.svg
Harwich International

BSicon TRAJEKT.svg
BSicon INT.svg
Hoek van Holland Haven
BSicon ABZg+l.svg
BSicon KINTeq.svg
Amsterdam Centraal Gnome-searchtool.svg Logo NS.svg Amsterdam metro logo.svg
BSicon INT.svg
Schiedam Centrum Logo NS.svg RET metro logo.svg
BSicon KINTe.svg
Rotterdam Centraal Logo NS.svg RET metro logo.svg

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

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

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

A Greater Anglia British Rail Class 321 at Harwich International station Harwich International Railway Station (11328277215).jpg
A Greater Anglia British Rail Class 321 at Harwich International station
The Stena Hollandica ferry at Hook of Holland Stena Hollandica at Hoek van Holland Haven aerial photo.jpg
The Stena Hollandica ferry at Hook of Holland
A Rotterdam Metro train at Hoek van Holland Haven station HvHH Metro.jpg
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.

OperatorTrain TypeRouteRolling StockFrequency
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 BMetro 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

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 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 .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurostar</span> High-speed train service in Western Europe

Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hook of Holland</span> Village in South Holland, Netherlands

Hook of Holland is a coastal village in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; hoek means "corner" and was the word in use before the word kaap – "cape", from the Spanish cabo – became Dutch. The English translation using Hook is a false cognate of the Dutch Hoek, but has become commonplace. It is located at the mouth of the New Waterway shipping canal into the North Sea. The village is administered as a district of the municipality of Rotterdam. Its district covers an area of 16.7 km2, of which 13.92 km2 is land. On 1 January 1999 it had an estimated population of 9,400.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nederlandse Spoorwegen</span> Principal Dutch passenger railway operator

Nederlandse Spoorwegen is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is the busiest in the European Union, and the third busiest in the world after Switzerland and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harwich International railway station</span> Railway station in Essex, England

Harwich International railway station is a railway station on the Mayflower Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line, the station serves Harwich International Port in Essex, England. It is 68 miles 72 chains (110.88 km) from London Liverpool Street, between Wrabness to the west and Dovercourt to the east. Its three-letter station code, HPQ, derives from its original name, Harwich Parkeston Quay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amsterdam Centraal station</span> Railway station in the Netherlands

Amsterdam Centraal station is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a day, making it the second busiest railway station in the country after Utrecht Centraal and the most visited Rijksmonument of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brussels-South railway station</span> Railway and metro station in Brussels, Belgium

Brussels-South railway station is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium. Geographically, it is located in Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis on the border with the adjacent municipality of Anderlecht and just south of the City of Brussels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotterdam Metro</span> Rapid transit system in Rotterdam, Netherlands

The Rotterdam Metro is a rapid transit system operated in Rotterdam, Netherlands and surrounding municipalities by RET. The first line, called Noord – Zuidlijn opened in 1968 and ran from Centraal Station to Zuidplein, crossing the river Nieuwe Maas in a tunnel. It was the first metro system to open in the Netherlands. At the time it was also one of the shortest metro lines in the world with a length of only 5.9 km (3.7 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoek van Holland Haven metro station</span> Rapid transit facility in the Netherlands

Hoek van Holland Haven is a metro station on Line B of the Rotterdam Metro, in Hook of Holland, Rotterdam, South Holland. Trains connect with the Stena Line Dutchflyer boat service to Harwich International in England. Until 1 April 2017, it was a railway station served by Nederlandse Spoorwegen. On 30 September 2019, it reopened as the western terminus of RET Metro Line B., and in 2023 it was extended to the new Hoek van Holland Strand station with the platforms relocated to the northwest of the historical station-building, so that they are on the new section of the line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harwich International Port</span> Port

Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite the Port of Felixstowe. The port was formerly known as Parkeston Quay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-speed rail in Belgium</span>

Belgium's high-speed rail network provides mostly international connections from Brussels to France, Germany and The Netherlands. The high-speed network began with the opening of the HSL 1 to France in 1997, and since then high-speed lines have been extended towards Germany with HSL 2 in 2002, HSL 3 from Liège to the German border in 2009, and HSL 4 from Antwerp to the Dutch border in 2009.

Stena Line Holland BV is a subsidiary of Stena Line that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England and Hook of Holland and Europort in the Netherlands. The head office is in Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. Apart from during the two world wars there has been a continuous service operating between these two countries, initially by the railway companies serving the east coast of England together with Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland a Dutch ferry company. In 1990 Stena Line had purchased both parts and Stena Line Holland BV came into being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoek van Holland Strand metro station</span> Metro station in Hoek van Holland, Netherlands

Hoek van Holland Strand metro station is a metro station in Hook of Holland, Netherlands. It consists of two tracks with side platforms. Its former site was the terminus of the Schiedam–Hoek van Holland railway to Rotterdam when it opened on 1 June 1893. Its name is derived from the nearby North Sea beach, strand being Dutch for “beach”.

<i>Hook Continental</i> Passenger train running between London and Harwich

The Hook Continental was a passenger train running between London's Liverpool Street Station and Harwich Parkeston Quay where it connected with the night ferry sailing to the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. It was introduced as a named express by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1927, and was part of the marketing strategy pushing the concept of almost seamless travel from London overnight to numerous European destinations utilising the company's own ships and the rail connections from the Hook of Holland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotterdam Centraal station</span> Railway station in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rotterdam Centraal station is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands. The station received an average of 112,000 passengers daily in 2019. The current station building, located at Station Square, was officially opened in March 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schiedam Centrum station</span> Metro and railway station in Schiedam, Netherlands

Schiedam Centrum is a railway station and metro station in Schiedam, just to the west of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the railway line between The Hague and Rotterdam Centraal. Train services are operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and metro, tram and bus services are operated by Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amsterdam–Schiphol railway</span> Railway line in the Netherlands

The Amsterdam–Schiphol railway is an important 17 kilometre long railway line in the Netherlands that connects Amsterdam with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and allows trains to continue to Leiden, The Hague, and Rotterdam.

The main public transport in the Netherlands for longer distances is by train. Long-distance buses are limited to a few missing railway connections. Regional and local public transport is by bus and in some cities by metro and tram. There are also ferries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schiphol Airport station</span> Railway station in the Netherlands

Schiphol Airport station is a major passenger railway station in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, beneath the terminal complex of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, operated by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The station's six platforms are accessible via twelve escalators and three elevators located in the main concourse of the airport. The original station was opened in 1978, and the current station in 1995. It connects the airport to Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands, as well as to Belgium and France.

The Schiedam–Hoek van Holland railway is a former railway line and current rapid transit line of the Rotterdam Metro between Schiedam and Hook of Holland along the Nieuwe Maas, in the west of the Netherlands. The line is also an important freight railway, it is 24 kilometres long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SailRail</span> Train and ferry ticket in Britain and Ireland

In Britain and Ireland, a SailRail ticket allows travel with a combination of train and ferry. The brand, which was in existence by 2005, is principally associated with rail tickets between National Rail stations in Great Britain and stations in Ireland, including ferry travel on one of three routes across the Irish Sea.