The High Frequency Rail Transport project is already underway, preparing busy routes in the Netherlands for extra use. The 10-minute train between Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Bosch and Eindhoven has already been put into place.
The plan is to have six NS Sprinter trains and eight Intercity trains running every hour between The Hague and Rotterdam by 2025. This equates to a train running every five minutes. In order to realise this, the Dutch government is investing more than 300 million euros in the railway network on this route.
In order to turn the railway plans into a reality, certain adjustments will be made to stations between The Hague and Rotterdam so that trains are able to arrive and depart more efficiently. The railroad between Rijswijk and Delft Zuid will be altered and two more railway tracks will be added, bringing the total to four.
The number of passengers using the train is increasing due to the population growth and the rising numbers of tourists visiting the Netherlands. In 2017, Rotterdam was host to a record number of tourists, namely 1,1 million, who stayed in hotels in the city.
A large percentage of those visiting Rotterdam were domestic tourists. Tourists visiting from abroad were mainly from Germany or the United Kingdom, with both countries having a seven percent share in the number of tourists staying in hotels in Rotterdam.
The State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management, Stientje van Veldhoven, expressed that expanding and investing in the railway now, would benefit travellers in the future and waiting times would be decreased.