Amsterdam to Berlin by Train Is Finally Getting Serious Attention

The Netherlands and Germany have signed a joint declaration to improve cross-border rail, with faster and more frequent passenger trains as a central goal. German transport minister Steffen Bilger and Dutch state secretary for public transport Annet Bertram signed it in Berlin on November 10. The agreement focuses on three corridors: Amsterdam to Hamburg and on to Copenhagen, Amsterdam to Berlin and on to Warsaw and Prague, and Amsterdam to Frankfurt and on to Basel and Vienna.

The gap the deal is trying to close is easy to see on a departure board. NL Times notes that there are currently about twice as many daily high-speed trains from the Netherlands to Paris as to Berlin. The declaration says journey times, including to Berlin, should be cut in stages, but it does not set new times, frequencies or start dates. Both governments also want to make it easier for new operators to run international passenger and freight trains, which could bring more competition on these routes.

Some regional links are already moving. The Wunderline between Groningen and Leer in Germany has reopened, and cross-border trains between Coevorden and Bad Bentheim are due to start in December 2026. The two countries will study four more cross-border projects, including Emmerich to Oberhausen, Venlo to Viersen, and a Bremen to Oldenburg to Groningen to Amsterdam link. They will also look at extending the proposed Lelylijn, a new line between Groningen and Amsterdam, into Germany.

There is a practical side for freight and security too. About 45,000 freight trains cross the Dutch-German border each year, and both countries will cooperate on the ERTMS signaling system and on running 740-meter trains, which also matters for moving military equipment. Ministers will meet each year with the rail infrastructure managers ProRail and DB InfraGO. For travelers, nothing changes yet, but it is the first formal step toward making the train a realistic alternative to flying between Amsterdam and Berlin.

Sources: NL Times, Rijksoverheid (Dutch government)