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During the first weekend of May, a train will run to Zandvoort every five minutes. The Dutch Railways have confirmed that they can considerably ‘screw up’ the timetable to ensure that the supply and removal of people proceeds as smoothly as possible during the Formula 1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands.
This confirmation from the Dutch Railways fits in seamlessly with the large mobility plan that was previously revealed by Circuit Zandvoort and the Dutch Grand Prix. The concise summary of this is actually: “The train is the key to success, the bicycle the sign and the shuttle bus necessary.” It indicates, first of all, that Zandvoort is not accessible by car and, secondly, that all those involved want to get as many people as possible by train to the racing spectacle in Zandvoort.
However, Zandvoort is largely dependent on partners such as ProRail and NS for this. After all, they must facilitate and thus make the plan possible. This seems to be increasingly moving in the right direction. ProRail, for example, has already announced that it will be tackling the Zandvoort station considerably. For example, extra platforms will be built to transport larger quantities of people.
A huge logistical operation
The Dutch Railways have now confirmed that they will also cross the bridge. The organization has announced that it will significantly scale up with the timetable in the first weekend of May. “On Friday 1, Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May a train runs in both directions between Amsterdam Central Station and Zandvoort aan Zee station in both directions at most every five minutes.” This adjusted timetable starts daily from 7 a.m. in the morning and will be held ‘as long as necessary’. This makes the Amsterdam-Zandvoort train connection so intensively used for the first time in history. Normally there are only two trains per hour on this route, so this number is increased to twelve trains per hour.
The railway company expects to transport around 50,000 people a day to and from Zandvoort. No problems are expected in advance, although it is acknowledged that it will be a major operation. “In the unlikely event of a failure, this will demand the utmost from NS and ProRail.” The Dutch Railways are advised to purchase their tickets in advance. In the next two weeks you can do that with a twenty percent discount.
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