Dutchflyer

Dutchflyer

Map of the Dutch Flyer rail & sea route over the North Sea
Overview
Main (s):	London, East Anglia, South Holland, North Holland
Parent company:	Abellio Greater Anglia Nederlandse Spoorwegen Stena Line
Website:	stenaline.co.uk
Route map Legend Norwich Diss Cambridge Dullingham Newmarket Kennett Bury St Edmunds Thurston Elmswell Stowmarket Needham Market Ipswich London Liverpool Street Stratford Shenfield Chelmsford Witham Kelvedon Marks Tey Colchester Manningtree Harwich International North Sea Hoek van Holland Haven Amsterdam Centraal Schiedam Centrum Rotterdam Centraal

Dutchflyer is the name given in the UK to 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 and its UK subsidiary Abellio Greater Anglia.^[1]

History

The Dutchflyer service is a successor to former boat trains such as the LNER's 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 so 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 Abellio Greater Anglia to Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay), cross the North Sea by Stena Line ferry, and continue, after arrival at Hoek van Holland Haven to any station in the Netherlands served by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (or in the reverse direction). Trains to and from London and Cambridge are timed to meet the ferry.

Train services

An Abellio Greater Anglia train at Harwich station

The "Stena Hollandica" ferry at Hoek van Holland

A Nederlandse Spoorwegen train at Hoek van Holland Haven station

After arriving in Hoek van Holland, passengers disembark right into the railway station, from where there is a frequent rail service to Rotterdam Central Station. At Rotterdam passengers may change trains to go anywhere in the Netherlands. An example is shown in this table for a connection by rail from Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam and then to The Hague or Amsterdam, or stations in between.

Operator	Train Type	Route	Material	Frequency
Abellio Greater Anglia	Local train	Manningtree – Harwich International	Class 321/Class 360	1 per hour
Abellio Greater Anglia	Boat train	London Liverpool Street – Harwich International	Class 321	4 per day
Abellio Greater Anglia	Boat train	Cambridge/Norwich/Bury St Edmunds/Ipswich – Harwich International	Class 170	3 per day
Stena Line	Ship	Harwich International harbour – Hoek van Holland harbour	Stena Britannica, Stena Hollandica	2 per day
Nederlandse Spoorwegen	Local train	Hoek van Holland Haven – Rotterdam Centraal	SGMm	2 per hour
Nederlandse Spoorwegen	Intercity	Rotterdam Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal	VIRM	4 per hour
Nederlandse Spoorwegen	Intercity Direct	Rotterdam Centraal - Amsterdam Centraal	Traxx + ICR	4 per hour

See also

• Admiraal de Ruijter (London–Amsterdam, 1987–?)
• Benjamin Britten (London–Amsterdam, 1987–?)
• Eurostar (London–Paris)
  • Regional Eurostar (Glasgow/Manchester–Paris, proposed)
• The Golden Arrow - London–Calais (1929–1972)
• Night Ferry (London–Paris/Brussels, 1936–1980)
• Venice-Simplon Orient Express (London–Paris–Rome)

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 Ltd. 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.

External links

• Stena Line website in The Netherlands
• Information on the route