Multiple lightning strikes disabled railway infrastructure around Utrecht Centraal on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, causing severe disruptions and cancellations for commuter trains traveling to Amsterdam, Schiphol, and Eindhoven.
National rail operators halted traffic on key routes during the morning hours after two separate lightning strikes damaged tracking infrastructure.
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Hundreds of passengers were left stranded.
Officials project that normal train schedules will not resume until 2:00 p. m.
following emergency repairs.
First Strike Near Breukelen
According to RTV Utrecht, the first strike occurred around 11:00 a. m.
on the tracks between Utrecht Centraal and Breukelen. It hit right next to a traffic control post where workers witnessed the impact.
While two tracks on that specific route remain operational, rail technicians are still evaluating the extent of the damage on the remaining two lines.
The initial strike completely stranded a train along the route. Authorities confirmed the lightning did not directly hit the vehicle itself.
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Emergency crews are currently attempting to tow the disabled train back to a nearby station so passengers can safely disembark and find alternative transportation.
Second Strike and Wider Impact
A second lightning strike hit shortly afterward between the Driebergen-Zeist and Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn stations. This further reduced train capacity and required additional damage assessments.
The knock-on effects of these combined infrastructure failures have restricted outward train traffic from Utrecht to other major destinations, including Amersfoort and Gouda.
The weather disruption coincided with a code yellow weather warning issued by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) for the Utrecht region.
The warning is effective between 10:00 a. m.
and 6:00 p. m.
due to severe thunderstorms.
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Neighboring North Holland remained unaffected by the weather warning.
