Dutch public transport firm NS has faced criticism from 19 different municipalities after announcing changes to its timetable. The municipalities sent a joint letter to the transport firm expressing their disappointment with the new proposals.
The municipalities, which are all located in Noord-Holland, stated in their letter to NS that the changes to the timetable are “yet another deterioration” at a time when public transportation is growing in importance in the Netherlands. "We find this deterioration unacceptable,” they wrote.
NS already made a number of cuts to schedules affecting Noord-Holland earlier in the summer, such as cutting the number of connections on Fridays between Amsterdam and Alkmaar by half. The municipalities stated that they were also unhappy to learn of the changes in the newspaper, rather than being directly informed by NS.
The province of Noord-Holland is concerned about the number of rail connections available in the region, especially given that bus connections no longer line up with the new train schedule, according to Deputy Jeroen Olthof - who is responsible for mobility and public transport in the province of Noord-Holland.
Olthof has expressed his concerns to NS CEO Wouter Koolmees. "A discussion in which we hopefully take the first step is to now really look together at public transport as a blank A4 and fill it in from what is needed. For example, with a Noord Holland Rail", Olthof told ANP. Olthof hopes that the new government will create a “German-style” public transport system “where residents can use virtually all public transport for a fixed monthly fee of around 50 euros.”
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