Computer outage cripples train traffic in the Netherlands

 A computer outage disrupted train travel to and from Amsterdam and in other parts of the Netherlands for hours on Sunday and Monday, Dutch railway company NS said.

The outage hit traffic control around 6 p.m. local time (1600GMT) on Sunday afternoon and crippled train services until Monday morning.

NS said on Monday it had resolved the problem and that trains would begin to operate slowly again from 0700 GMT.

The outage made it impossible for domestic and international trains to reach Amsterdam Central Station and cut off all rail traffic to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest hubs.

It left hundreds of passengers stranded overnight in Amsterdam and at the country’s largest train station in Utrecht, Dutch news agency ANP said.

Around 150 people spent the night at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome concert hall, as they were unable to return home after shows by British pop singer Harry Styles there and Swedish metal band Ghost at a venue nearby.