Fyra Replaced By Slow Train To The Hague
This article from the Europe by Rail web site is a lesson to all those politicians and civil servants, who think they understand the transport needs of the general public. This is the first paragraph.
The Belgian Railway authorities this afternoon announced the return of old-style InterCity services from Brussels to stations in the Netherlands. This is to provide some kind of replacement for the short-lived FYRA service, introduced in December 2012 and then withdrawn last month.
The service has actually lasted less than two months.
There is also a sting in the tail of the article.
Meanwhile, coach operators have spotted a gap in this busy cross-border market. One company starts a new express link from Rotterdam to Brussels early next month.
After all, the UK has a large network of long distance coach services that compete with rail, so why not between Brussels and big centres of population in The Netherlands/
The Anonymous Widower 
Lasted Two months . . . and now to give it another chance, next season ???
Typical . . . Absolutely beyond belief, in 2021 . . .
How would you, explain this stupid decision of running a Train Travel for 2 months ???
I cannot fathom how this could justified . . . Two Months ??? Unbelievable . . .
Comment by Steam Lover | February 2, 2013 |
I would agree. i travelled on the train and to my untutored ear, it didn’t sound right. It didn’t ride as well as the UK Mark 3 coach built for 200 km/hr in the 1970s and still running today.
But the whole concept is wrong, in that Brussels to Amsterdam, doesn’t need a 300 km/hr train, but a a 200 km/hr one, which stops in more places.
Comment by AnonW | February 2, 2013 |