How to reach Groningen by train, from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport:

When out of the arrival hall at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport follow the signs to the trains. You can buy your ticket at the counter (there is a small surcharge for this). Getting tickets without a surcharge at one of the ticket machines is possible too, but the experience is that these machines do not accept foreign credit cards. A one-way ticket costs € 27.30 for second class and € 46.40 for first class (Groningen refunds first class). Sometimes the Dutch railway company (Nederlandse Spoorwagen, NS) also offers special seasonal tickets such as a spring tour (lentetour) or summer tour (zomertour) for only € 39.50. These are valid for two people for a whole day in first class in the entire Netherlands, but are only valid after 9am on weekdays or may only be valid on the weekend. Keep your train ticket as Groningen has a policy of »no receipt, no refund«.

Trains for Groningen typically leave every half hour, starting at 5:49 in the morning and the last one leaves at 23:19 in the evening. The journey takes about 2.5 hours and and there are two sorts of trains departing from the same platform: Trains leaving at 19 minutes past the hour go direct; when taking one of the trains leaving at 49 minutes past the hour you have to change at Amersfoort (about 45 minutes out of Schiphol). Switching trains easy: your connecting train leaves from the opposite side of the platform; just follow the crowd. In addition, for some connections you may have to go via Utrecht and then change there into a train to Groningen.

Warning: Both the direct trains from Schiphol and sometimes also the train you enter in Amersfoort or Utrecht split in Zwolle, with one part going to Groningen and the other to Leeuwarden. Typically (do not take this for granted), the front part goes to Groningen and the back part goes to Leeuwarden. While there are indications on the boards as to which half does what, these suppose that you know in which direction the train will be traveling. So the best procedure is to ask when you are in the train. You have plenty of time to change, as Zwolle is about 1 hour out of Groningen.

For more details consult http://www.ns.nl/, the railway routeplanner, or the routeplanner for international trips. For instructions on how to continue to our building see the pages on how to get here by bus or by taxi.