Rail traffic in the Netherlands largely collapsed on Sunday.

According to media reports, thousands of travelers waited at train stations after a system relevant to the safety of rail traffic failed at around 10 a.m. and no train from the state railway company NS had been rolling since around 12 p.m.

Taxis were hard to come by and buses were completely overloaded.

Travelers told reporters they missed flights or put plans to the wind for the rest of Sunday.

It was initially unclear whether the trains would actually roll again later in the evening, as promised by the railway.

"We strongly advise against traveling or, if you are already travelling, looking for other travel options," the NS website said.

Accordingly, display boards at the stations failed or no longer showed correct information.

ICE trains are running again

There were also significant disruptions in long-distance traffic between Germany and the Netherlands in the afternoon.

On the ICE route from Frankfurt (Main) to Utrecht, the trains between Utrecht and Mönchengladbach were canceled in both directions from around noon, as a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn in Berlin said.

In the meantime, the ICE trains could run along the entire route again.

On the IC route from Berlin via Hanover to Amsterdam, train traffic was not interrupted.

However, there were delays, which could still occur, the spokeswoman said.

The Dutch railways initially announced that international trains were not affected by the disruption.

In contrast, Dutch media reported that many people with foreign destinations, including Germany, were stranded at the main train stations in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

After it had been unclear for hours exactly what the problem was, a railway spokesman explained that a system had failed that coordinated the deployment planning of the trains, taking into account incidents such as diversions that are currently necessary.

Without this system, security cannot be guaranteed.

"And that is essential so that the traffic can take place according to the timetable." According to the information, the trains of smaller regional railway companies ran normally.

A rail replacement service was not set up because it was not possible to use as many buses as would have been necessary to transport the affected train passengers, NS said on Twitter.

"I can well imagine that travelers don't know what they are at the moment," said the railway spokesman.

"This is a real shitty day."