NS ticket prices in the Netherlands to increase by up to 9 percent in 2026

Train tickets in the Netherlands are expected to increase by between 6 and 9 percent next year, rather than the 12 percent initially proposed. 

Train ticket price hike for the Netherlands 

In a letter to the House of Representatives, State Secretary for Public Transport and the Environment Thierry Aartsen announced that NS ticket prices will rise by between 6 and 9 percent in 2026. The exact price hike will be revealed in the autumn.

Train tickets were originally going to cost 12 percent more after the Dutch government announced that it was not allocating funding to dampen the rises. “We’ve done everything we can to contain the increase for passengers,” said Aartsen in the letter. “But we also need to be realistic: everything is becoming more expensive and public funds are not unlimited.”

To ensure the increase is no higher than 9 percent, NS is cutting costs elsewhere to make train maintenance more efficient. The Dutch rail company has already replaced the youth day ticket with a 40 percent discount as a means to reduce spending. 

Dutch public transport becomes more expensive

Last year, there was quite an uproar when it was announced that ticket prices would increase by over 11 percent in 2025. The Dutch government then decided to work with NS to lower the ticket price hike to just 6 percent. 

However, this will not happen again. “The cabinet does not want to revisit this discussion every year. Both travellers and NS deserve structural certainty,” said Aartsen. 

Public transport ticket prices were also set to see a sharp rise in the largest Dutch cities as the government planned to cut over 300 million euros in subsidies supporting operators. While the public transport budget cuts were mostly scrapped, keeping prices down for 2026, transport operators will see more cuts in 2027. 

According to RTL Nieuws, passenger association Rover believes that the ticket price hikes for next year are unjustified. More expensive tickets "mean another step towards fewer passengers on public transport as a whole".