Dutch private railway operator Arriva, which has been planning to launch open-access services between the Netherlands and Paris in France, via Brussels in Belgium, will not put this project into operation in 2026. The information was first revealed by Thibault Lapers on his Mobilithib blog, based on statements from the company itself.

At the same time, Arriva is facing uncertainties surrounding its domestic Zwolle–Groningen project: the validity of the Studenten-OV-kaart on an open-access service operated without subsidies has not yet been clarified by the Dutch state.

Questioned by Mibilithib, the Dutch rail operator confirms that it will not launch its planned long-distance open-access services between Groningen in the northern eponymous province and Paris-North, nor between Amsterdam South and Paris-North, this year.

2023

Arriva had nevertheless submitted a notification to the Dutch competition authority (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, ACM) on 8 June 2023, with a view to launching, at the earliest on 1 June 2026, a daily open-access service between Groningen and Paris-Nord. 

According to this notification, the plan consisted of one daily round trip between Groningen and Paris-North and, depending on the rolling stock eventually available, a second daily round trip on the Amsterdam South – Paris-North section (or Brussels-South – Paris-Noth). The file referred to trains capable of operating on high-speed lines, with a stated maximum speed of 200 km/h, while Arriva indicated it was studying faster rolling stock.

In a subsequent notification submitted in Belgium at the end of 2024 (for access to the Belgian network), Arriva instead mentioned conventional rolling stock (locomotive and coaches) limited to 160 km/h, and listed the following intermediate stops: Assen, Zwolle, Almere Centrum, Amsterdam South, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Central, Antwerp-Central, Brussels Airport-Zaventem, Brussels-Central, Brussels-South and Mons.

These two applications show that the exact configuration of the service (both rolling stock and stopping pattern) evolved during the regulatory procedures and had not yet been finalised.

“At this stage, we know for certain that no Arriva trains will run in 2026 between Groningen and Paris, nor between Amsterdam and Paris. We simply need more preparation time”, said Miriam Ossel, spokesperson for Arriva Nederland, to Mobilithib.

A second routing attempt

Two years later, in February 2025, Arriva nevertheless appeared to have revised its strategy. As noted by rail enthusiast Martijn van Vulpen on his website, the operator was then considering an alternative route via more conventional lines, limited to 160 km/h or less, between Zwolle and Antwerp. 

This route would pass through Amersfoort, Utrecht, ’s-Hertogenbosch and Breda, resulting in a journey time of around seven hours between Groningen and Paris, compared with the five hours initially envisaged.

GoVolta

At the same time, competing operator GoVolta, which has just taken delivery of thirteen i10 coaches from NMBS /SNCB, is exploring the possibility of launching, as early as December 2026, up to four trains per day in each direction between Amsterdam Central and Ghent-Saint-Peter’s. Two of these services would be extended to Bruges, the other two to Paris-North, via Kortrijk (Courtrai).

The choice of a route via Ghent on the way to Paris would be explained by the saturation of Infrabel train paths between Brussels and Antwerp on lines 25 and 27. 

The infrastructure manager must allocate capacity between Eurostar Amsterdam–Paris and London–Amsterdam services, EuroCity / EuroCity Direct Brussels–Rotterdam (and Lelystad), as well as several Belgian InterCity and suburban services.

“It is indeed quite complex to coordinate a coherent timetable and route across three countries. Discussions are still ongoing with ProRail, Infrabel and SNCF Réseau. It is therefore still too early to specify the exact route that will be used.We wish to communicate this information clearly and definitively, once, when we have secured a finalised train path in all three countries,” the company told Lapers.

Not abandoning the project

Arriva nevertheless insists that “our ambition, however, has not changed. We are doing everything possible to bring our projects to fruition for the benefit of passengers.”

It should also be noted that Qbuzz ( actually Trenitalia) is likewise in the race for a Paris–Amsterdam service from 1 January 2027, but neither Qbuzz nor Trenitalia responded to questions from Mobilithib.

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