Strong winds in The Netherlands on Thursday which badly affected the rail network had a major impact on freight services.

DB Cargo Nederland said the winds, which also affected Belgium and Germany, caused ‘serious disruption’ to operations, with trains stopped for around 11 hours while parts of the country were under a ‘Code Red’ weather warning. Three people died in The Netherlands as a result of fallen trees or debris caused by ‘Storm Friederike’.

Halted

Many train services were halted in mid-journey and had to remain stationary for long periods. DB Cargo Nederland said the border crossing with the German region of North-Rhine Westphalia was only being operated under limited use. Dutch rail infrastructure manager ProRail said that hundreds of employees and contractors were needed on Thursday evening and into the night to carry out repair works on the rail network.

Services are today gradually returning to normal, though some restrictions remain in place. The German rail network was also badly affected, with national operator Deutsche Bahn forced to cancel hundreds of services, with freight trains also halted.