Measures to address crowded trains
More and more people are travelling by train. On the busiest routes, the number of passengers is rising by approximately 5% per year. Due to the number of passengers, some trains can be very crowded, especially during morning and evening peak hours.
What measures is NS taking?
NS will be investing 2.5 billion euros in new trains in order to carry the growing number of passengers, and will be taking several measures to help limit crowded trains as much as possible:
- In 2018, we added 118 new Sprinters.
- Since December 2017, trains have run every 10 minutes between Amsterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven. That has added 15% more seats along this route.
- In 62 of our Sprinters, we have converted part of the 1st class compartment to 2nd class, which has added around 1,000 extra 2nd class seats.
- Our own NS employees and office staff travel during off-peak hours whenever possible.
- We keep travellers informed about the expected crowds on certain routes, as well as possible alternatives.
Engineering work
Due to engineering work on the railways, trains may not always be able to run with enough carriages, for example because fewer or shorter platforms are available along the route. This means that trains may be shorter than usual, even when the routes are not directly affected by engineering work