The problems with the timetable due to a tight schedule will last for another two months, until October 1. Rail manager ProRail confirms this after passenger organization Rover reported this.
In recent days, several train connections have been cut for hours due to staff shortages. For example, the sprinter between Utrecht and Baarn did not run on Wednesday and intercity trains between Amersfoort and Amsterdam and between Utrecht and Almere were canceled.
The cause is that there are too few employees available at the traffic control post in Utrecht. Due to the high schedule pressure, trains can be canceled due to a single cancellation. According to ProRail, fewer people will be on leave after 1 October and fewer problems are expected then.
“The understaffing has been going on for longer and we always do the maximum to prevent train failures. The traffic controllers show maximum flexibility and also come to work on their days off, but people must be able to go on holiday for their rest”, the railway manager said. .
ProRail has sixty vacancies out of a workforce of 750 people. In the summer this leads to shortages due to vacation. The shortage is exacerbated by illness or suspicions of corona, because it is not possible to work from home.
Generous compensation
Rover wants ProRail to limit the inconvenience to passengers as much as possible, for example by allowing fewer trains to run instead of shutting down entire routes and by providing better passenger information.
There must also be generous compensation for passengers who incur extra costs for their own transport. ProRail is discussing this with both the passenger organization and the rail carriers.
In addition, Rover argues for a less vulnerable design of the system. “It is impossible to explain to the traveler that if someone breaks down, train traffic comes to a halt,” says director Freek Bos. “That requires a fundamentally different design of the systems, in which the transport of travelers must come first.”
In a press release Rover expresses its appreciation for the ProRail personnel who step in to prevent further cancellations. “Rover understands that the traffic control staff are currently providing maximum flexibility where necessary and greatly appreciates this.”
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