Passengers travelling via six major train stations in the Netherlands this week will receive free tea and coffee, with free fruit being distributed too, courtesy of NS. This is NS’ way of thanking passengers for their patience during the last three weeks in which major work was carried out in Leiden.
Last week, Stientje van Veldhoven, State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management, suggested offering a cup of coffee to passengers who suffered bother from the railway works. NS is now running with this idea: “It’s been a hard couple of weeks for our passengers, hence this gesture”, says NS spokesperson Inge Rijgersberg. Monday, April 15, marked the end of the rail works and trains from Amsterdam to The Hague and Rotterdam ran according to schedule.
Free tea and coffee is now available from station kiosks until Friday evening at the following stations: Leiden Central, Amsterdam Zuid, Amsterdam Sloterdijk, The Hague Central, The Hague HS and Haarlem. You can grab your cuppa during the morning and evening rush periods, or more specifically 6.30am to 9am, and 4pm to 6.30pm.
Travellers association ROVER feels that a cup of coffee simply isn’t enough and that those with a train season ticket should be monetarily compensated. The organisation received hundreds of complaints in the last couple of weeks. According to ROVER, NS failed to provide enough railcars, resulting in overcrowded trains and passengers fainting.
The railway around Leiden was spent, hence the need to update it. During the weeks of rail works, kilometres of tracks, gravel, sleepers and overhead cables were completely renewed. Another 90 switches were removed or replaced and 3.000 relays and cables were adjusted. ProRail and NS will now thoroughly evaluate the Leiden rail works operation and draw lessons where possible.