In seven weeks, the Dutch Railways will have to tolerate a competitor on NS’s ‘own’ track for the first time. On Friday, December 16, the first night train from Arriva departs from Maastricht via Eindhoven and Utrecht to Schiphol. The second night train from Groningen to Schiphol will follow in January.
Arriva will run on the ‘main rail network’. These are the most important train connections in the Netherlands on which NS has the exclusive right to operate inter-city and local trains until 2025 – or possibly even longer.
Since 2021, however, European legislation makes it possible to also offer transport services on the basis of ‘open access’ on the main rail network. In addition, carriers can offer rail services at their own risk and without government concession. This resembles the situation in the telecom sector: there has also been a debate for years as to whether KPN and Ziggo should open their networks to other providers of internet access.
Arriva is the first carrier in the Netherlands to make use of this new legislation. The introduction of the second night train, Groningen-Schiphol, has been delayed due to a long blockage between Lelystad and Zwolle. Arriva has not yet been able to take a test drive on this route.
A ticket for the night train has a fixed rate, 10 euros, regardless of which station you get on from. Travelers cannot use the public transport chip card.
Legal action
Arriva, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn and provides train and bus transport in the north, east and south of the Netherlands, also wants to run a train between Zutphen and Amersfoort. This has to be done five times a working day. Due to “operational and technical obstacles”, that introduction has been postponed, says an Arriva spokesperson. She can’t say when that train will run.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives will discuss the layout of the track. The operation of the main rail network will then also be on the agenda. Two years ago, the previous cabinet awarded the right of use of the main intercity trains and sprinters to NS again, from 2025 to presumably 2035. Privately, without a public tender.
Also read: The Netherlands clashes hard with the European Commission about the future of the intercity network
However, according to the European Commission, the Netherlands should initially leave the operation of the main rail network – the most lucrative part of the Dutch track – to the market. If carriers are not interested in providing passenger services thereon, a direct award can only be made. The Commission threatens the Netherlands with legal action if the government does not conduct a market survey or commercial transporters are interested in the main rail network. In addition, the Commission considers the package of intercity and local trains too large.
Anne Hetttinga, chairman of the board of Arriva Nederland, states in a reaction to the first night train: “This is how we should deal with the main rail network. Not only in my opinion, but also completely in accordance with the EU rules: first give the market space to offer train connections, only then see whether a public tender is necessary.”
Arriva expects to be able to offer more train connections in open access within a few years.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of October 29, 2022