24-hour national transport strike on 9 September: the 25 euro that covered your taxi ended five days earlier

FNV has called a 24-hour national strike for Wednesday 9 September across three sectors at once: regional transport, urban transport and rail. The stated reason is the cabinet’s plan to cut WW and WIA further and to reduce social security. If you live in the Netherlands, the only question that day is how you are getting there. NS has been blunt: no trains run anywhere in the country, with one exception — the Airport Sprinter between Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol and Hoofddorp, four times an hour. But most people reach that station by GVB metro, tram or ferry, and GVB stops from 04.00 Wednesday until 04.00 Thursday.

• Scope: FNV’s regional transport, urban transport and rail sectors, including ProRail and DB Cargo, for 24 hours. Regional transport starts at the beginning of the shift; exact start and end times for urban transport and rail are announced by each operator. (Source 4)
• Trains: no NS trains anywhere in the Netherlands that day. International EuroCity, EuroCity Direct, Eurostar Continental and Channel, NightJet and ICE, plus the Roosendaal–Antwerpen and Liège–Aachen Drielandentrein services, do not run within the Netherlands. NS expects the regular timetable back on Thursday 10 September. (Source 1)
• The one train still running: the Airport Sprinter between Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol and Hoofddorp, four times an hour, as normal. (Source 1)
• City operators: GVB (Amsterdam) has no metro, tram, bus or ferry from 04.00 Wednesday to 04.00 Thursday; HTM (The Hague) no bus or tram over the same window; RET (Rotterdam) no bus, tram or metro all day and metro stations closed; Waterbus runs normally. Arriva, Keolis, Qbuzz, EBS and U-OV vary by region. (Source 3)
• Compensation: since 4 September NS has scrapped the separate strike rule that let you claim up to 25.00 euro per person per day for alternative transport without checking in. Only Geld Terug bij Vertraging remains. (Source 2)
• How Geld Terug bij Vertraging works: you must generally have checked in, and without a check-in you have to show you intended to travel. A delay of 30 to 59 minutes returns part of the fare; 60 minutes or more returns the full fare or a replacement ticket. (Source 2)

Start with the money, because this is what makes 9 September different from every strike day before it. Until recently a taxi, a lift or a long-distance coach on a strike day could be claimed back at up to 25.00 euro per person per day, with no check-in required. That rule ended on 4 September — five days before this strike. For a household where two adults both have to travel, the old ceiling was 50.00 euro back; this time it is 0.00. That 50.00 euro is not a saving, it is the amount you now carry yourself.

The one scheme left has a knot in it on a strike day. Geld Terug bij Vertraging generally requires a check-in, and on a day with no trains there is nothing to check in to. NS writes the way out itself: without a check-in you must show that you intended to travel. In practice that means the evidence has to exist before Wednesday. Keep the ticket you already bought, the booking you already made, the payment record — gather it now, not while standing on an empty platform.

If you have a flight, treat the trip as two separate legs. The Airport Sprinter is the only train running, but it only calls at Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol and Hoofddorp, and GVB’s metro, tram, bus and ferry are out from 04.00 Wednesday to 04.00 Thursday. So the train that is still running may not be one you can reach. Plan the leg to Amsterdam Centraal on its own — on foot, by bike, by car or by taxi — and do not assume that a train running means you can get to the airport.

There is also a gap in the timing that is easy to miss. The city operators state 04.00 Wednesday to 04.00 Thursday, so the last services late on Wednesday and the first ones before 04.00 on Thursday are gone too, while NS talks about Thursday’s regular timetable. If you have something early on Thursday, check whether that leg depends on a train or on a tram or metro — they come back at different moments.

Two things to re-check before you leave. First, FNV says the exact start and end times for urban transport and rail are announced by the operators, so the GVB, HTM and RET windows above are the operators’ own published version and are worth one more look before Wednesday. Second, Arriva, Keolis, Qbuzz, EBS and U-OV differ a lot by region, with some lines running and others not, so check your own line rather than assuming the whole country is at a standstill.

Hokimi tip: do three things today. Move Wednesday’s appointment to Tuesday or Thursday; if it cannot move, put your existing tickets and booking evidence aside now; and if you are flying, plan the leg to the station separately. As for the money, do not count on a refund this time — that 25.00 euro route closed on 4 September.

Date

Wednesday 9 September 2026, 24 hours

Scope

Regional transport, urban transport and rail nationwide, ProRail and DB Cargo included

Still running

Airport Sprinter: Amsterdam Centraal–Schiphol–Hoofddorp, four times an hour

Back to normal

NS expects the regular timetable on Thursday 10 September; GVB and HTM until 04.00 Thursday

Compensation

The 25.00 euro per person per day for alternative transport ended on 4 September; only Geld Terug bij Vertraging remains

Note

Exact start and end times for urban transport and rail are published by each operator — check your own line again before you travel