Arriva Netherlands plans trains between Groningen and Paris

Arriva has submitted an application to the Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) to operate the international train service between Groningen and Paris from 2026. With this new service, Arriva Netherlands is responding to the growing demand for sustainable transport and the great public desire for more international trains.

Arriva plans to run a daily service between Groningen and Paris from June 2026. The train will leave Groningen at 5.30 and arrive at Gare du Nord in Paris at around 10.40. The train will stop at Zwolle, Almere, Amsterdam South, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Central, Antwerp Central and Brussels South stations. At 19.15, the train will depart Paris and return to Groningen, arriving there at around 0.30. Arriva plans one more connection during the day to connect Paris with Amsterdam, its schedule was not published yet.

The application was submitted well before the start date due to the Dutch government's intention to make international rail services part of the Dutch main rail network for the coming years, if other companies do not come up with plans by 10 June 2023. To avoid problems to get infrastructure capacity for additional international connections, Arriva is now announcing its plans. Open rail access is a basic prerequisite for making rail a successful alternative to short-haul air travel. This has led to more and cheaper train services in countries such as Spain, Italy and France.

Arriva also plans to make more requests for train traffic from different Dutch regions to the Belgian and French cities, for example. In doing so, Arriva will use its international knowledge it has in the 10 European countries where it operates, and the experience it already has through its open-access night trains from Maastricht and Groningen to Schiphol Airport. Arriva calls on governments in all European countries not to obstruct the market to get comprehensive international train network with more and more frequent trains for passengers.