Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)

Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)(Nederlandse Spoorwegen)

Nederlandse Spoorwegen or in Dutch: NS, or translated in English: Dutch Railways is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is the busiest in the European Union, and the third busiest in the world after Switzerland and Japan.

The rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003. Freight operator NS Cargo merged with DB Cargo in 2000. NS runs 4,800 scheduled domestic trains a day, serving 1.1 million passengers. The NS also provides international rail services from the Netherlands to other European destinations and carries out concessions on some foreign rail markets through its subsidiary Abellio.

NS Nederlandse Spoorwegen History

NS Nederlandse Spoorwegen Early Years

World War I caused an economic downturn in the Netherlands that caused the two largest Dutch railway companies, Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) and Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS), to become unprofitable. The companies avoided bankruptcy by integrating their operations, which was complete by 1917. The cooperation was for both economic and ideological reasons, and the state provided support by buying shares in both companies. In 1938, the state bought the remaining shares and merged the companies to create NS, NS was not nationalised.

During World War II, NS was forced by the Germans to construct railways to Westerbork transit camp and transport almost a hundred thousand Jews to extermination camps. The company's only wartime strike was during the Dutch famine of 1944–45. NS opted not to strike a year earlier.

NS played a pivotal role in the post-war reconstruction of the Netherlands, it provided the required logistical services in a time when there was little alternative to rail transport. The company declined in the 1960s – like many other railways – and operated at a loss. There was increased competition from other modes of transport. In addition, national coal distribution from Limburg became less profitable, the discovery of a gas field near Slochteren led to coal losing market share to natural gas in power plants and homes. NS' response, the Spoorslag '70 plan which increased service and introduced intercity service, failed to restore profitability. The company was deemed nationally important and received state subsidies.

NS Nederlandse Spoorwegen Reforms and Reversal

NS was reorganized following the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s and the 1991 EU Directive 91/440, the latter required railway infrastructure and transport activities to be managed independently. Although the state called the process "corporatization" (verzelfstandiging), it really only meant the withdrawal of subsidies. The changes were carried out by Rob den Besten, who became chief executive officer of NS after the retirement of Leo Ploeger.

NS' infrastructure division was split off into NS Railinfratrust. Plans to split the remainder of NS met with limited success due to trade union opposition, the new companies created were NS Reizigers and locomotive maintenance company NedTrain. Passenger transport was to be conducted on a commercial basis, but the state continued to subsidize non-viable routes. Internally, route managers assumed de facto control, but they were dependent on a different organisation in the company. The freight business, NS Cargo, merged with Deutsche Bahn, the resulting company operated as Railion in 2000 and then as DB Cargo. Performance deteriorated after the reforms, and the company suffered multiple unorganized strikes. The entire board of directors resigned in late-2001.

Another change in strategy followed. Karel Noordzij became CEO in 2002 and reversed many of the reforms to restore confidence in the company. The state no longer considered competitive passenger service to be viable, and began granting concessions with the goal of one concession per line. NS received a concession to run main line routes until 2025.

NS Recent Years

The timetable change on 10 December 2006 saw the most routes to approximate the symmetry minute in clock-face schedules to the one used in most other European countries. The previous symmetry minute 46 led to problems with cross-border trains. As of December 2022 the company's CEO is former minister Wouter Koolmees, after Marjan Rintel left to become CEO of KLM.

NS was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused massive drops in passenger numbers. The company received significant financial support from the national government in order to keep the company solvent. In 2022, the company made significant cuts in its timetable, running fewer and shorter trains, as a consequence of personnel shortages.

Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS Nederlandse Spoorwegen) Overview

NS Locale: Netherlands
NS Dates of Operation: 1938–present
NS Predecessor:
Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM)
Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS)
NS Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
NS Company Type: State-owned naamloze vennootschap
NS Industry: Rail transport
NS Founded: 1938
NS Headquarters: Utrecht, Netherlands
NS Key People: Wouter Koolmees (CEO)
NS Products: Rail transport, rail construction, services
NS Revenue:
Decrease €5,980 million (2021)
€6,661 million (2019)
NS Net Income:
Increase €116 million (2018)
€47 million (2017)
NS Total Assets:
Increase €7,030 million (2018)
€6,214 million (2017)
NS Total Equity:
Decrease €11,786 million (2021)
€3,477 million (2017)
NS Number of Employees:
Increase 38,600 (2020)
40,978 (2020)
NS Parent: State of the Netherlands
NS Subsidiaries:
Abellio
Nedkoleje
NSRegio (99%)
WestfalenBahn
Nederlandse Spoorwegen