Dutch rail operator NS has announced plans to run an extra 1.600 trains per week in 2025, with particular expansions to services between Rotterdam and The Hague, as well as Rotterdam and Schiphol.
The train company has set its intentions to begin the new services in an application to the government to request slots and services on the Netherlands’ rails. The application has been made, though the plans are yet to be approved.
Despite this, NS’s timetables are rarely rejected, and it seems likely that the plans will be given the go-ahead. "We don't ask for what we can't get," NS said.
As part of the changes, the Netherlands will benefit from an expansion of services on high-speed lines in particular, by giving the high-speed line between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp a more important role in the national rail network. High-speed trains are set to continue from Amsterdam Zuid to Almere, Lelystad and Amersfoort, and future high-speed plans are being made to include Zwolle, Leeuwarden and Groningen.
A sprinter will now also run every ten minutes between Rotterdam, Dordrecht and The Hague, and the number of NS trains to Brussels is set to double to 32 trains per day. Some of the other timetable updates include earlier first and later last trains of the day on certain routes, and for those who are always at the airport - extra trains covering the route from Arnhem via Utrecht and Schiphol to Rotterdam.
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