49-euro tickets available again after launch crashes NS website
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By Simone Jacobs
The launch of the 49-euro ticket for Dutch trains caused some chaos, crashing the NS website with over 20.000 sales in just a few hours. The problem seems to have been resolved, and the summer discount subscription is once again available for purchase.
NS website crashed after launch of summer discount ticket
As soon as sales of the 49-euro ticket began on Monday, June 15, the NS website was extremely busy. The high number of residents trying to get a ticket subscription eventually crashed the site, making the discounted ticket unavailable for several hours.
"We noticed that the website was indeed busier," said an NS spokesperson, as reported by AD. "When it is very busy, the website crashes for some people. Then everything works less quickly than normal." The problem seems to be resolved, and travellers can purchase tickets again.
The summer discount ticket, officially known as the “Nederland Dal Vrij Trein” subscription, allows residents in the Netherlands to enjoy unlimited travel on all Dutch trains during off-peak hours and weekends for a monthly fee of 49 euros. It is essentially the NS Flex Dal Vrij ticket, which has been temporarily discounted from the usual 127,95 euros per month, valid until August 31.
Subscriptions can be purchased until July 31, as it is a monthly subscription. This can be done at NS ticket machines with a personal OV-chipkaart or via the NS webshop.
Over 20.000 49-euro tickets sold on within hours of launch
The summer discount ticket was first proposed as an additional measure for the government’s 1-billion-euro crisis relief package, meant to support residents with rising prices due to the war in the Middle East. Another aim is to encourage people to use public transport more instead of driving.
Demand for the discount subscription is high, with over 20.000 tickets sold by 10am on Monday. The rush is likely caused by the budget cap that the government set. If costs approach the limit of 118 million euros, sales of the ticket will be stopped.
According to an NS spokesperson, the limit is nowhere near reached, reports NU.nl. Even though more than 20.000 tickets have already been claimed, a total of 700.000 subscriptions are available.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more