Nederlandse Spoorwegen

N.V. Nederlandse Spoorwegen
	File:Nederlandse spoorwegen logo.png
Company type	State-owned company
Industry	Rail Transport
Founded	1938
Headquarters	Utrecht, The Netherlands
Key people	A.W Veenman, CEO
Products	Rail Transport, Rail Construction, Services
Revenue	€ 4.040 billion (2007)
Operating income	€ 355 million (2007)
Net income	€ 337 million (2007)
Number of employees	27,380 (2006)
Subsidiaries	Strukton; Merseyrail; Northern Rail; Nedkoleje
Website	English Homepage;

Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), or NS, is the principal passenger railway operating company in the Netherlands. Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national rail infrastructure company ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003.

The Dutch railway system is said to be the most crowded network in Europe. In fact, the Dutch railway system is said to be the 3rd most crowded network in the world. The NS therefore announced that all railway traffic will be rerouted in a more efficient way starting in December 2006 to prevent the network from becoming dangerously overcrowded and to increase punctuality.^{[citation needed]}

History

Founding

The NS was founded in 1938 when the two largest Dutch railway companies, the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) and the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS), formally merged. These two companies, however, had been intensively cooperating as early as 1917. There were both economic and ideologic reasons for the cooperation.

Due to the First World War the economic situation had declined in the Netherlands, and the railway companies started to lose money. The railway companies were considered of great importance and thus letting them slip into bankrupty was not an option. The companies thus started an intensive cooperation in which their operational activities were completely integrated, even though the companies themselves remain independent entities. To financially support the companies, shares were bought by the Dutch government. In 1938 the government merged the HSM and SS into the current company, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The government bought the remaining shares, but never nationalized the company. Therefore NS remained (and still is) a private company with the Dutch government as sole shareholder.

NS as a state enterprise

During the Second World War the NS remained an independent company, but was forced to do the Germans' bidding; the NS was forced to construct the railway lines to camp Westerbork and help in the deportation of almost a hundred thousand Jews. The NS went on a strike once during the war, in the winter of 1944, after it had declined to participate in one a year earlier.

The NS played a pivotal role in the reconstruction of the country. There was little alternative transport in the country besides the train, while there was a huge demand for logistical services which the NS could provide.

While the 1950s were generally a good time for the company, it started to decline in the 60s, like most other railways around the world. Not only did the NS suffer from the competition of the car and other modes of transport, it also suffered from a loss of income when natural gas started to replace coal as the main fuel in powerplants and homes after a gas field was found near Slochteren. The NS had been involved in the transport of coal from the mines in Limburg to the remainder of the country.

The NS responded with an aggressive strategy named Spoorslag '70. This strategy meant, among other things, that the NS substantially increased the number of trains per hour and also introduced the Intercity services. However, it was quite clear that this would never return the company to profitability. Nevertheless the company was declared to be of national importance, meaning that it would receive large amounts of subsidies every year.

Reforms of the 1990s

In the early 90s the government started to question the subsidies given to the NS. Not only were there questions regarding the way the NS spent the subsidies, but, after the neo liberal reforms of the 80s, it was also considered not done to award generic subsidies to companies. The government decided on the verzelfstandiging of the NS. (Although technically, this is not the case, but instead refers here to withdrawal of the subsidies.) The idea was that not only rail transport was economically viable, but that there could be competition as well.

There were two external circumstances which allowed for this to happen. Firstly, the European Union passed Directive 91/440, which prescribed, among other things, the (formal) separation of the national railways into a two separate companies, one which deals with the infrastructure, and the other which deals with the transport activities. Secondly, the old CEO of the NS, Leo Ploeger, retired, which allowed the government to name a new CEO which would execute the government's plans. The new CEO was Rob den Besten.

The plans entailed that the government would remain responsible for the rail infrastructure, while the NS would provide the (passenger) transport on a commercial basis. Where the services would prove to be economically inviable the government would subsidise that route. The division which was responsible for the infrastructure would later be turned into NS Railinfratrust.

To facilitate the government plans for the commercial operation of the NS, den Besten planned to split the NS into many smaller independent divisions. The idea was that these smaller divisions would be better able to respond to the market. The plans, however, received massive opposition from the unions, which meant that the only division created was NS Reizigers. There were also other internal changes in the company. The routemanagers got de facto control over the operation, but they were dependent of a different organ in the company.

These reforms were never much of a success and left the company in an uncontrollable state. Result was that the company started to decline rapidly, and that the employees started many unorganised strikes. Following this, the complete board of directors felt it necessary to resign in late 2001.

In 2002 Karel Noordzij was named as new CEO of the NS with the mission to restore the rest in the company. In essence, he did this by reversing most the reforms of the late 90s and restoring the company to the old state. Meanwhile, the government had changed its opinion of the railways, it no longer considered competition on (passenger) transport a viable goal. Thus, the government started to commission railway operators to run routes on the network. The NS was granted (by the national government) the concession to run on the main lines, whereas other companies received a number of the concessions on the secondary lines. The goal is to give individual concessions for the individual lines, but (at least) till 2015 the NS holds the concessions for main lines.

Coverage

Coverage throughout the country is excellent with almost all cities connected, with a service frequency of two trains an hour or more in most of the country (and at least four trains per hour between all of the largest 5 cities : Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven as well as some larger cities: Amersfoort, Arnhem, 's-Hertogenbosch, Dordrecht and Leiden). "Train Routes in the Netherlands" shows all the routes of the Dutch Railways and the NS and the private companies. Trains usually run between 6:00 am and midnight, although there is also a night line which connects the Randstad throughout the night.

In addition to its domestic services, NS is also a partner (along with Stena Line and National Express) in the Dutchflyer service. NS has also entered into a partnership with KLM to operate services on the new HSL-Zuid under the name NS Hispeed.

File:Koploper 08-10-2006.jpg

A refurbished Intercity.

Commercial transport types

There are two kinds of passenger trains:

A 'stoptrein' (literally: "train which stops," that is, a local train) stops at all stations, and is mainly used for local traffic. On some smaller lines, though, it is the only kind of service. 'Sprinters' are trains operating as a 'stoptrein', but only on dedicated lines in the Randstad. The Sprinter is the equivalent to the Swiss RegioExpress. Currently it is usually called 'Sprinter' because it usually uses the 'Sprinter' (2900 class) rolling stock; however, the service is sometimes operated using older style rolling stock (such as 'Plan V/T': 400, 500, 800 and 900 class).
'Intercities' only stop at larger stations, and were introduced in the 1970s to provide fast train connections throughout the country. As with the formerly widely used 'Sneltrein' service, Intercities services are usually operated by 'DD-IRM' and 'ICM/Koploper' class trains.

Before 10 December 2006 there was an intermediate type called 'Sneltrein' which was actually a kind of 'Intercity' train. (There are actually still some 'Sneltreinen' left; most of them will be become Intercity trains with the completion of the HSL Zuid.) On that date the NS introduced a complete timetable overhaul which has more frequent Intercity trains serving an expanded Intercity network, and smaller branch lines and stations being served by Stoptreinen feeder services. This is all part of the NS modernisation and expansion program.

The majority of the lines are electrified, all at 1500V DC. The HSL Zuid (between Hoofddorp and Belgian border) and Betuweroute (between Zevenaar and Rotterdam) will be electrified at 25kV 50 Hz AC.

The company was privatized in 1995. It lost ownership and maintenance of the railway network.

NS shares a common tariff system with the four smaller passenger train operating companies— (Syntus and Connexxion in the east, Veolia on the 'Maaslijn' in the south east, Arriva up north and on the 'lingelijn' from Dordrecht to Geldermalsen) in the country.

The NS is encouraging people to buy their domestic tickets at ticket machines. They are still available at counters (which they want to develop into service centres) at bigger stations for a supplement of €0.50 per ticket since June 2004. As of 1 October, 2005, no tickets will be sold on the train and any traveler without a valid ticket will be fined €35 plus the fare.

Divisions of NS

NS Reizigers (NSR) - NS Travellers, responsible for passenger train services and for employing train drivers and conductors.
NS Stations - in charge of the operation of all 390 railway stations in the Netherlands, i.e., also those served by other railway companies than NS Reizigers; see also station facilities. Now part of NS Poort, together with NS Vastgoed
NedTrain - train maintenance.
NS Vastgoed - owns 48 km² of land, often near stations, and develops and operates these areas as public traffic nodes, offices and apartments. Now part of NS Poort, together with NS Stations
NS Commercie - product- and customer management (marketing, sales and customer service).
NS Hispeed - operator, in conjunction with NS Reizigers and foreign partners, of international trains such as the high speed Thalys (from Amsterdam to Paris and ICE (to the German Ruhr area), the Swiss CityNightLine, (based in Zurich) travels to Munich and Zurich, and charter trains). (Night trains from Holland to Berlin or Paris no longer travel.)
Nedkoleje - in a joint venture with Polish Railways (PKP), operates trains in West Pomeranian Voivodship (Zachodniopomorskie), Poland.
NedRailways - in a joint-venture with Serco in the UK which runs Merseyrail services in and around Liverpool and Northern Rail across the north of England.

In dealing with the general public, these distinctions are not made and the terms Nederlandse Spoorwegen and NS are used.

NS has contracts with Connexxion and BBA for the provision of bus services to replace train services in the case of planned and unplanned cancellations.

Policy

There is a delay refund scheme entitling passengers to a partial or full refund of the ticket price if a journey is delayed by half an hour or more. The scheme does not apply on short-distance journeys and cases in which the delay is the result of planned cancellations that were announced some days in advance. Refunds are, in general, half the ticket price of a one-way trip after a delay of over 30 minutes, and the full ticket price after a delay of one hour or more. This applies to nearly all kinds of tickets. The refund is not considered a monetary compensation for lost time but rather as a reduction in charges where a poor service has been provided. The costs to NS of this scheme are kept manageable by providing a rather bureaucratic claim system: many do not claim because the system is perceived as cumbersome.^{[citation needed]} Part of the cost of the scheme is paid by ProRail, since they are responsible for part of the delays.

Since 1 January 2004 tobacco smoking is prohibited on domestic trains, station halls and covered parts of platforms. The smoking of cannabis was already prohibited, though it happens occasionally and is not as severely punished as in some other countries (that is, it is punished the same as tobacco smoking). Smoking is allowed near smoking-zones (Rookzones), posts with an ash-tray built in, scattered around stations.

Since June 2003, the sale of coffee, soft drinks, beer, sandwiches, candy, etc., has ceased aboard domestic trains. The increasing number of Servex convenience stores at railway stations and the relatively short duration of most train journeys in the Netherlands have lowered the demand for on-train services. In 2005 a much reduced in-train service of drinks and small snacks has been reintroduced on longer journeys.

Technological assistance for train staff

Conductors have a small computer called Railpocket with timetable and fares information. The latest version is the HP iPaq h4350 Pocket PC, which can communicate through Bluetooth with their Sony Ericsson T610 GPRS-telephone.

Statistics

14.73 billion passenger km per year (2005), which is 30% of the seat km.

External links

www.ns.nl