Station closure - Hoek van Holland Haven

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Yahoo

The station will close for the summer from 1 April, with trains replaced by buses for five months. When the line re-opens in September, the once-mighty Continental rail terminus will be relegated to part of the Metro system for the second-biggest city in the Netherlands.

I have seen the place fade (used the direct Amsterdam service a few times when it was there) and feel a bit sad.  Won't be the same in the future, even if it's technically just as convenient.

Budget flying has claimed another victim. Hook of Holland, one of the grandest stations in Europe, is to be re-born as a stop on the Rotterdam Metro.

Hoek van Holland Haven, as the stations is officially known, opened in 1893. The Thomas Cook journal, Cook’s Excursionist, reported excitedly: “The Great Eastern Railway Company’s new route to the Continent from Harwich, via the Hook of Holland, is now open.

“New and powerful steamers have been constructed for this service; and as travellers for Holland, Germany, &c., landing at the ‘Hook,’ will be spared the passage up the Maas, a considerable saving of time will be effected.”

For most of the next century, the international rail-sea interchange flourished. Direct trains ran from its extensive platforms to Berlin and Copenhagen, while the luxury Rheingold ran beside western Europe's mightiest river via Cologne and Baden-Baden to Basel.

In 1933, Patrick Leigh Fermor began his journey across Europe to Constantinople (Istanbul) from Hook of Holland. He later described it in A Time of Gifts.

After the Second World War, Hook of Holland was a starting point for the Orient Express. Even in the 1970s and 80s, transcontinental trains lined up to receive passengers from the Harwich ferry and take them on to Copenhagen, Berlin and Warsaw.

The final Warszawa Express to the Polish capital departed exactly 100 years after the station opened.

Since 1993, services have dwindled still further, as the number of budget flights has increased. The Boat Train to Amsterdam ceased a decade ago, when Stena Line's high-speed catamaran from Harwich was withdrawn; conventional ferries still ply the route.

In 2014, the writers Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries described the westbound journey via the now-forlorn station: “There is a sort of melancholy born of leaving the Continent without having properly said one's farewells. There is no such thing as a grand exit via Hoek van Holland.”

[chrisr_75]

Hook of Holland, one of the grandest stations in Europe

I don't think it could ever really have been described as being grand...certainly not on a European scale!

[Bmblbzzz]

Today of all days seems an appropriate time to announce the closure of another link between Britain and continental Europe.

[chrisr_75]

It's only closing temporarily while the line is converted to a metro line.

[eightf48544]

Shame did several free trips via Harwich Hook in the  60s on my continental passes. One memorable weekend to Stockholm via Hook Copenhagen through train on the Bee Line train ferry. Malmo Stockholm. Left Liverpool Street Thursday evening overnight boat, All day to Copenhagen including an 01 10 from Osnabrucke to Hamberg.
Sleeper Malmo Stockholm Arrive Sat morning one night Saturday in hotel then back to Liverpool St Tuesday morning straight into work.

[Tim]

Today of all days seems an appropriate time to announce the closure of another link between Britain and continental Europe.

The analogy works rather well.  A link with Europe is abandoned and after many months they will put in place an alternative which will achieve many of the same things as the original. 

[Electric train]

Today of all days seems an appropriate time to announce the closure of another link between Britain and continental Europe.

The analogy works rather well.  A link with Europe is abandoned and after many months they will put in place an alternative which will achieve many of the same things as the original. 

But without the convince and ease of the original 

[Tim]

Today of all days seems an appropriate time to announce the closure of another link between Britain and continental Europe.

The analogy works rather well.  A link with Europe is abandoned and after many months they will put in place an alternative which will achieve many of the same things as the original. 

But without the convince and ease of the original 

and loads of uncertainty in the meantime

[Bmblbzzz]

Today of all days seems an appropriate time to announce the closure of another link between Britain and continental Europe.

The analogy works rather well.  A link with Europe is abandoned and after many months they will put in place an alternative which will achieve many of the same things as the original. 

But without the convince and ease of the original 

I suppose it's more convenient for locals who might use it for commuting or any number of reasons. Certainly less convenient for long distance travellers; but then who still travels long distances internationally by train in Europe? The linked article mentioned a Hoek to Warsaw train that ran until 1993. As it happens, I lived in Warsaw in 2000. Obviously the Hoek train had long ceased to run but there were still direct trains to Berlin, so I looked into taking one of those then another to Brussels to connect with Eurostar. It would have cost more than flying, even back then, and taken longer than the bus with more inconvenience (though probably more comfort) due to several changes (the bus was direct to London, took ~30 hours and cost about £40 return).

[grahame]

Certainly less convenient for long distance travellers; but then who still travels long distances internationally by train in Europe? 

Perhaps a dozen or two people off the boat onto the train at Hook of Holland when I used the route late last autumn.  So off season, but perhaps one of the busier days in the week ... muted by it being a rail replacement coach that was very poorly advertised from Liverpool Street to Harwich.   

How far those passengers were going beyond Rotterdam, I don't know.  Certainly Rotterdam Centraal is a convenient interchange (or rather "has been") , but the traffic on the train from Hoek van Holland has been dwarfed by local commuter traffic along the line into Rotterdam.

[stuving]

How far those passengers were going beyond Rotterdam, I don't know.  Certainly Rotterdam Centraal is a convenient interchange (or rather "has been") , but the traffic on the train from Hoek van Holland has been dwarfed by local commuter traffic along the line into Rotterdam.

I thought that there hadn't been any boat trains for over ten years - just the local trains to Rotterdam Centraal? that being replace by a Metro line to ... Rotterdam Centraal. So what, exactly, is closing (other than for the duration of the works)?

Given the number of foot passengers by boat per day, you can hardly expect a trains service just for them. A line useful for others, extended by a stop or two, and going to a big station with a wide choice of long-distance trains sounds not so bad, really. Could you realistically expect any more?

[Worcester_Passenger]

I thought that there hadn't been any boat trains for over ten years - just the local trains to Rotterdam Centraal? that being replace by a Metro line to ... Rotterdam Centraal.

Alas, the Metro won't go to Rotterdam Centraal - you'll need to change at Beurs to get there.

The Metro will take you to Schiedam Centrum on the way into Rotterdam. That has always been the best place to change for Den Haag and Amsterdam. It'll probably be the better place to access rail services for elsewhere. Though Utrecht will probably involve another change (at Rotterdam Centraal).

[grahame]

From The Independent

The late-running project to reconnect a key ferry link from the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) with the European rail network officially reopens today – to criticism that railway heritage has been lost.

Passengers on the historic crossing from Harwich to Hook of Holland in the Netherlands could once choose from an array of express trains deep into Europe.

But they must now board a tram that runs on line B of the Rotterdam metro network, and later change to the Dutch railway network.

The trains from Hoek van Holland only ran to Rotterdam in recent years anyway, forcing a change there - so in practise much of the heritage was lost much earlier.

I do wonder if SailRail tickets are valid on the Rotterdam Metro.

[Worcester_Passenger]

I do wonder if SailRail tickets are valid on the Rotterdam Metro.

The Stena website is saying that they're valid from Hoek van Holland to Schiedam Centrum.

[stuving]

The line and both new stations reopened at the end of March. The Haven station is now straightened out, and a new road crosses the tracks between it and the ferry terminal. The Haven station has moved right down to the beach, and the tracks there have been built on "stilts" to keep them above the sand.

There is a detailed report from member DanielB on railforums, with pictures.