The next year will again be busier on the Dutch railways. Despite the corona crisis and the significant drop in the number of travelers, the number of train journeys will continue to grow in 2021. This is stated in the capacity allocation that rail operator ProRail sends to the carriers today. The timetables for travelers are made on the basis of this distribution.
In fact, 2,172,187 passenger train journeys are scheduled for next year, almost 3,000 more than this year. For example, there will soon be an extra express train between Groningen and Leeuwarden and there will be a night train connection between Amsterdam and Vienna. “All these new trains need a place on the track, without hindering other trains. That is why we redistribute the capacity on the track every year”, says Sybren Hazenberg of ProRail.
In addition to extra trains, the new distribution should also lead to an improvement of existing connections. For example, the intercity to Berlin will soon travel ten minutes faster through the Netherlands and travelers in Groningen, Leeuwarden, Geldermalsen and Baarn will have faster transfer options from 2021.
Shorter trains
Yet it is a different year than usual. The number of train travelers has fallen sharply in recent months. At one point there was only 10 percent of the normal number of passengers on the train. That has now grown to 40 percent, but is still far from the old level. Nevertheless, both ProRail and the transporters do not think that scheduling fewer trains is an option: “That would really be a step back. Especially when life is hopefully normal again, we really need those trains”, says Hazenberg.
And the Dutch Railways also announced: “NS will continue to improve and expand the timetable. This year and the years after. This is enormously important for travelers. During corona, so that they can travel comfortably and responsibly. And after corona, so that we can receive more travelers again. ” The declining number of travelers may mean that trains are used less long, regional train operator Arriva says.
Just using fewer trains is actually not an option because it has too much influence on, for example, transfer times, says Hazenberg. “We have been working on a capacity allocation for years. In fact, the distribution for 2022 is actually already eighty percent ready. We are even looking ahead to the plans for 2040. So just making a new set-up is not possible.”
According to Hazenberg, it is precisely the details that they have been working on for years that can have a major influence on travelers and carriers. “For example, my colleagues have done a great job in Dordrecht this year. Because the bridge there now opens at a smarter time, there is room for an extra freight path. This means that extra freight trains will soon be able to run, very important on that busy route. . “
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