Arriva hasn’t abandoned Groningen – Antwerp – Paris train service

There will be no Arriva train from Groningen in the north of the Netherlands or Amsterdam in Holland, via Antwerp in Belgium, to Paris in France this year, but the plan has not been abandoned. According to an Arriva spokesperson, more preparation time is needed for the new international rail service.

Arriva submitted the Paris service in 2023 to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). According to that filing, the company intended to run a daily train from Groningen to Paris from June 2026, departing at 5:30 AM and arriving at 10:40 AM, before returning later the same day.

Complex to coordinate

Arriva is still working on the plan for the new connection, but cannot yet say when the service will actually start operating. The company tells Treinreiziger.nl it simply needs more preparation time. Coordinating a train path and route across three countries has proven to be quite complex. Discussions are ongoing with infrastructure managers ProRail, Infrabel and SNCF Réseau.

The difficulty of launching a train service to Paris did not come as a surprise to Arriva. Back in 2023, the company already acknowledged that there were many technical and political obstacles, such as differing safety requirements, language requirements and varying track access charges. Nevertheless, Arriva stated at the time that it was keen to take on the challenge.

Arriva not yet active in Belgium and France

Arriva operates in eleven European countries, including the Netherlands, but is not yet active in Belgium or France. In the Netherlands, the company runs several open-access night trains and also operates regional services in the north, east and south of the country. Arriva had also planned to launch open-access fast services between Zwolle in Overijssel and Groningen this year, but has not yet done so.

GoVolta to Paris from December

Although Arriva will not manage to launch a Paris service this year, a train from Amsterdam to the French capital operated by GoVolta is set to begin in December. This new Dutch rail company has recently secured a favourable timetable and expects to open ticket sales soon. The service follows the launch of its routes to Berlin and Hamburg in Germany in March.

Heurotrain also preparing plans

Until December, Eurostar remains the only operator running trains from Amsterdam to Paris. In addition to Arriva, the new Dutch initiative Heurotrain is also working on plans for high-speed services to Paris. The company is currently seeking investors through a crowdfunding campaign, aiming to make the project a reality by 2030.

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