Back in September 2013 we reported on Eurostar’s announcement of a through train service from London to Amsterdam.

Eurostar plans Amsterdam service in December 2016

At that time the earliest start date was this coming December, a date later revised to the end of 2017.

And according to an interview with Eurostar’s CEO Nicholas Petrovik in Les Echos that date still stands.

Eurostar (majority owned by France’s SNCF) will operate twice daily services between the two cities with possible en route stops in Antwerp, Rotterdam and (Amsterdam) Schiphol.

The new service will be marketed to both business and leisure travellers with Eurostar expecting to woo passengers from one of Europe’s busiest air routes.

Trains will be formed of the 900-seat Siemens’ rolling stock which has wi-fi (unlike most of the original Alstom trainsets).

Overall journey time will be around four hours. But because of the time difference you need to allow “five hours” for London-Amsterdam and “three hours” for the return.

And the Amsterdam-London timing will be extended because of the requirement for en route UK border controls. It is still unclear at which station they will take place.

In an emailed statement to Business Traveller, Eurostar says.

“The Amsterdam service is expected to start at the end of 2017 and that has been the case for some time. Work is progressing well, with on track testing of the e320s having started in April of this year. We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to advance discussions on border checks, with the aim of finding a solution which will allow us to provide a fast and efficient service for our customers.”

In other news from Les Echos:

A new lounge at Paris Nord is scheduled to open in the near future.

But passenger numbers and revenue have fallen in the first six months of the year. There are 3 per cent fewer passengers. Revenue has declined by 8 per cent. The CEO says there are fewer American and Japanese travellers “who are very important for Eurostar” taking the service at present.

Eurostar.com