In 2022, the NS plans to have trains running every ten minutes on the lines between Nijmegen, Arhem, Utrecht and Schiphol and between Schiphol, Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam.
Currently, four trains per hour travel on these routes. When ten-minute trains are implemented, that will rise to six trains per hour. A ten-minute train already runs between Amsterdam and Eindhoven.
The plan is to make travelling by train an even more attractive alternative than going by car. Before coronavirus, hundreds of thousands of people would travel on these routes, says State Secretary van Veldhoven. These new trains will reduce overcrowding on the routes.
Van Veldhoven says that despite coronavirus, work on reinforcing the tracks in preparation for these extra trains should continue. “The train is and remains a basic facility for many people to get to work, to family or to school.”
The Dutch government is well aware of the increasing popularity of train travel. Apart from these ten-minute-trains, more frequent and faster international train travel is a priority. The Eurostar from Amsterdam to London will begin running this autumn, after delays from the coronavirus crisis. A night train to Munich and Vienna is also in the works this year, and the Netherlands is also working on speeding up travel times to Brussels and Berlin.
Which train routes would you like to see more frequent trains on? Let us know in the comments below.
Feature Image: Abuzer van Leeuwen/Supplied
