Train to Schiphol cancelled or a strike: what now?
If your train to Schiphol is cancelled, first check the NS Journey Planner or 9292 for what is still running.
Last updated: 27 October 2026
First, check what is still running
During a disruption NS deploys replacement buses and aims to have them running within 60 minutes. If that is too late for your flight, get dropped off at a station where trains are still running, or take a taxi. NS only refunds a taxi you arrange yourself if NS agreed to it beforehand.
- NS Journey Planner and the NS app: your trip with the trains still running. The disruptions and engineering works page shows what is wrong.
- 9292: plans your trip by train, bus, tram and metro together and shows disruptions. Useful when you need to route around a broken stretch of track.
- Rijden de Treinen: an independent site with current disruptions and a map. Not an NS planner, but a quick overview.
- Schiphol's current notices: Schiphol posts there when the airport is harder to reach, for example because of a strike.
What NS arranges during a disruption
Source: NS (compensation during disruptions and refunds for delays). Checked 27 October 2026.
Replacement buses
NS deploys replacement buses and aims to have them running within 60 minutes. That depends on how many buses and drivers are available; shortages do happen. NS decides which replacement transport is used.
No travel advice within 100 minutes
If NS cannot give you travel advice through its usual channels within 100 minutes, you may take other public transport yourself: train and bus only, not a taxi, rental car or private car. NS then reimburses necessary and reasonable extra costs.
A taxi on your own initiative
NS does not reimburse a taxi you arrange yourself, unless NS explicitly agreed to it beforehand. In exceptional cases NS itself provides a taxi as replacement transport.
Refund for delays
You can claim a refund from half an hour of delay, or from fifteen minutes on the high-speed line. With more than an hour you often get the full fare for your journey back, with a shorter delay half. You can claim up to three months after your travel date. In cases of force majeure, such as a nationwide power outage, NS can refuse compensation.
During a public transport strike
Ahead of the nationwide public transport strike of 9 September 2026, Schiphol announced that only four trains per hour would run between Amsterdam Central, Schiphol and Hoofddorp. Metro, tram and bus would not run, and Schiphol expected extra congestion on the roads around the airport.
Schiphol's advice at the time: check the NS Journey Planner well before you leave and use the trains that are still running. Get dropped off at Amsterdam Centraal, Sloterdijk, Lelylaan or Hoofddorp and continue by train from there. By car: allow extra travel time, use the Kiss & Ride or P1, or take a taxi. For how busy the airport itself is, see crowds at Schiphol.
The options side by side
- NS replacement bus
- Useful when
- You have time and the bus follows your route
- Watch out
- NS aims for buses within 60 minutes, not always achieved
- Other public transport via 9292
- Useful when
- A bus or metro runs around the disruption
- Watch out
- In a nationwide strike, bus, tram and metro may not run
- Drop-off at a station still served
- Useful when
- Someone can take you to Amsterdam Centraal, Sloterdijk, Lelylaan or Hoofddorp
- Watch out
- Check that trains to Schiphol really run from there
- Taxi or pre-booked taxi
- Useful when
- Your flight is tight or you travel with luggage or a group
- Watch out
- NS only refunds a taxi you arranged yourself if agreed beforehand
- Own car, Kiss & Ride or P1
- Useful when
- Someone can drive you or you want to park
- Watch out
- During a strike, extra congestion on roads around Schiphol
Sources: NS, 9292, Schiphol. Checked 27 October 2026.
A taxi as a way out
At Schiphol's official taxi rank you pay what the meter shows; on the meter, statutory maximum fares apply in 2026: for a regular car a starting fare of €4.31, €3.17 per kilometre and €0.52 per minute (Dutch government). A fixed price is also allowed, as long as it is agreed before the ride starts. Uber and Bolt also run to Schiphol; the price in the app moves with demand at that moment (Uber). For disruptions at night, see missed the last train to Schiphol; to compare train and taxi in general, see taxi or train to Schiphol.
SchipholRide is a booking platform for taxi rides to and from Schiphol, active since 2018. Your ride is carried out by an affiliated operator with a taxi licence; the driver holds a Dutch chauffeurskaart (taxi driver card).
You see a fixed total price before you book, from €35 (Comfort), including VAT, luggage and Schiphol parking costs, with no night surcharge. For pickups at Schiphol your flight is tracked live and you get 60 minutes free after landing. Prices per town are in the fare table by municipality; cancellation terms are on cancelling and changing.
Questions about rail disruptions and strikes
What should I do if my train to Schiphol is cancelled?
Check the NS Journey Planner, the NS app or 9292 for which trains and buses are still running. NS deploys replacement buses and aims to have them running within 60 minutes. If that is too tight for your flight, get dropped off at a station where trains still run, or take a taxi.
Does NS pay for a taxi if the train is cancelled?
Only if NS explicitly agreed to it beforehand. Otherwise NS does not reimburse taxi costs you incur on your own initiative. In exceptional cases NS itself provides a taxi as replacement transport.
Do trains run to Schiphol during a strike?
It depends on the strike. Ahead of the nationwide public transport strike of 9 September 2026, Schiphol announced that only four trains per hour would run between Amsterdam Central, Schiphol and Hoofddorp; metro, tram and bus would not run. Schiphol posts such strikes in its current notices on schiphol.nl.
Do I get money back if my train to Schiphol is delayed?
Yes, from half an hour of delay. With more than an hour you often get the full fare for your journey back, with a shorter delay half. You claim from NS up to three months after your travel date. In cases of force majeure, such as a nationwide power outage, NS can refuse compensation.
Where can I see current disruptions towards Schiphol?
On the NS disruptions and engineering works page, in the NS app, at 9292 and on Rijden de Treinen, an independent site with a disruption map. Schiphol posts a notice when the airport is harder to reach.
Sources and how we made this page
SchipholRide sells taxi rides to and from Schiphol itself, so this page does not rank companies. The facts about Schiphol, transport and the Dutch taxi rules come from the sources below; the questions come from what travellers ask search engines and AI assistants. Spotted something out of date? Let us know via contact.
- NS: what compensation does NS offer? (replacement transport, taxi, last train) (checked 27 October 2026)
- NS: refunds for delays on a domestic route (checked 27 October 2026)
- NS: current situation on the tracks (disruptions and engineering works) (checked 27 October 2026)
- 9292: journey planner for public and shared transport, with disruptions (checked 27 October 2026)
- Rijden de Treinen: independent site with current Dutch rail disruptions (checked 27 October 2026)
- Schiphol: 9 September, Schiphol harder to reach due to public transport strike (notice of 4 September 2026) (checked 27 October 2026)
- Schiphol: by train to or from Schiphol (checked 27 October 2026)
- Dutch government (Rijksoverheid): taxi costs (in Dutch) (checked 27 October 2026)
- Uber: upfront pricing explained (checked 27 October 2026)
Book your taxi to Schiphol
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