Computer outage cripples train traffic in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM - A computer outage is disrupting train travel to and from Amsterdam and in other parts of the Netherlands on Monday, Dutch railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) said.

The computer outage hit traffic control around 6 p.m. local time (1600GMT) on Sunday afternoon and has crippled train traffic since, the NS said.

The railway company on Monday morning said the problems would also affect international trains to Amsterdam, as the outage had not been resolved yet.


"The outage has a big impact, also on other parts of the country," NS said on its website.

The company did not predict how long it would take to resolve the problems, but said no trains would operate until at least the afternoon.

The outage left about 100 passengers stranded in Utrecht Central Station on Sunday night, Dutch news agency ANP said.

At Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome concert hall, hundreds of fans of British pop singer Harry Styles waited until early on Monday morning for alternative transport home.