The government is sticking to its intention to award the operation of the most important intercity trains and local trains to the Dutch Railways in the future as well. That is what State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Infrastructure and Water Management, CDA) said in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening during a debate about the railways.
The Netherlands thus deliberately risks a hard clash with the European Commission. He has already threatened legal proceedings and can ultimately impose financial sanctions on the Netherlands and NS.
According to the Commission, the Netherlands should allow more market forces on the main rail network, the most important and most lucrative railway lines on which more than 90 percent of the number of passenger kilometers is covered. Investigate first whether commercial carriers want to provide connections, then put them out to tender. That has been the convention in Europe for years.
Competitors of NS, including Arriva and Qbuzz, filed several lawsuits to be allowed to provide more train connections in the Netherlands. Their trade association, the Federation of Mobility Companies in the Netherlands, announced summary proceedings last week against the private award of the main rail network to NS.
Also read: NS competitors start substantive proceedings for open tender for the main rail network
Rail liberalization
More liberalization of the railways should improve the service to train passengers, is the idea of the European Commission. The NS is under fire because of its poor performance in recent months. A shortage of staff and a high level of absenteeism lead to train cancellations and the scaling down of the timetable.
The concession of the main rail network is a multi-billion dollar contract that runs from 2025 to 2034. According to the European Commission, awarding a private contract to one carrier is contrary to European rules. The Commission can launch ‘infringement proceedings’ against an EU country that does not properly apply European law.
According to State Secretary Heijnen, the Netherlands is the first country to launch an infringement procedure in this file. Belgium is also considering privately awarding the operation of the most important train connections – including the management of the infrastructure, which in the Netherlands has been placed with ProRail.
State Secretary Heijnen is considering having a so-called market analysis carried out for the railways in the Netherlands. This analysis should clarify which train connections are profitable in themselves and which do not require a concession. Concessions only apply to unprofitable lines that require subsidy. The VVD – and possibly also the CDA – are in favor of such a market test; the rest of the Chamber seems opposed.
Around the summer, European Commissioner Adina Valean (Transport) stated in a very critical letter to the Dutch cabinet that such a market analysis is required if a rail contract is concluded again. Valean also called the size of the main rail network too large. The outcome of a market analysis may have consequences for the current intentions of the State Secretary. Such a test could lead to a reduction in the size of the main rail network, the tendering of more (regional) rail connections and possibly also a smaller NS.
Heijnen said in the House that the state attorney had previously indicated that such a market analysis was not necessary. But he has since changed his mind; if the Netherlands does carry out a market analysis, the government hopes to vote the Commission in favor and avert an infringement procedure.
International trains
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has removed international trains to Paris, London and Frankfurt from the main rail network. Those economically interesting connections – which NS now provides together with four international partners – could then be put out to tender from 2025. At the moment, the Belgian railway company NMBS, Deutsche Bahn, Eurostar and Thalys are still obliged to cooperate with NS on Dutch territory.
The House of Representatives also discussed the requirements that the Ministry of Infrastructure should set for NS – or other parties that will operate the main intercity and rail trains from 2025.
Rover and other passenger organizations believe that the ministry should have more say about the prices of the train tickets. Now the State Secretary has only ‘tariff authority’ over a small number of, albeit widely used, types of tickets. However, Heijnen stated in the House that her ministry does not have enough in-house knowledge for this. NS has the experts, according to the State Secretary. The regional governments, which are clients of public transport in their region, do determine the prices of train and bus tickets.
For example, NS has now decided that train passengers who transfer from another carrier must pay a double boarding fare. If you switch from Arriva to Qbuzz, you only pay a boarding fee of 1 euro once. If you switch to NS, you pay another 1 euro. Heijnen answered questions from MPs time and again that it is very difficult for her to put an end to the double boarding rate. However, she promised an investigation into this.
Also read: The Netherlands clashes hard with the European Commission about the future of the intercity network