The school holidays have come to an end in the Netherlands, and with them the seat you so easily found on the train.
Last year, Dutch trains company NS transported 33,3 million people, but with the growth of the economy and more jobs in the Netherlands being created, and unemployment figures decreasing, the number of travellers is increasing.
NS estimates that 35 million people will take the train to get to work or school in September. September has always been the busiest month of the year, as children return to school and adults go back to work after their holiday leave.
In order to transport the estimated number of passengers, NS has purchased 58 new trains with a total of 200 carriages. These will be used to extend trains on busy routes in rush hour. The train maintenance programme has also been altered in order to ensure NS has more trains at its disposal.
With the increase in trains and carriages, there are now more trains running than ever before; however, despite the measures taken by NS, not everyone will be able to find a seat at rush hour and there are warnings of crowds, lines and delays.
NS is investing 2,5 billion euros in trains and next year 118 more will be added to the tracks. However, investing in trains is not enough; according to Roger van Boxtel, CEO of NS, investments need to be made in the infrastructure.
From September 6, NS will begin a trial, running intercity trains every 10 minutes on Wednesday between the cities of Amsterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven. This experiment will take place for 14 weeks in a row before it is scheduled to be put into place permanently in December. Running trains this often will allow for 15 percent more travellers to journey with the train.
Additionally, NS will also be starting a trial where they offer a discount to those who choose to travel in the rush period outside of 7.30-8.30am.