Fewer trains will run at various places in the Randstad on Saturday due to staff shortages at the NS. According to the latest state of affairs, this is the case on the Amsterdam-Alkmaar, Amsterdam-Utrecht and Utrecht-The Hague routes. The NS travel planner reports 15 minutes as the average extra travel time.
There are approximately 1100 vacancies at the railways. The railway company is not only short of drivers and conductors, but also IT staff, mechanics, safety and service employees and shop staff at the stations.
In order to enthuse people for work at the NS, a train simulator will be installed at a different station in the coming weeks. In it, people can experience what it is like to drive the latest intercity trains. The simulator was on Friday at Utrecht Central Station. Next Friday it will be Arnhem’s turn, then Alkmaar, Deventer, Rotterdam and Eindhoven.
State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Infrastructure) recently made it clear to the House of Representatives that the shortages may persist for a longer period of time, even after the summer. She found that “obviously not an attractive perspective for the traveler, nor for the staff of the NS”. However, she pointed out that many sectors are struggling to find enough staff.