Angelique Magielse stands for a difficult task. The financial director of NS must keep train travelers satisfied, make its employees happy and at the same time the railway company financially healthy. For the time being she only achieves limited success on all three fronts. In addition, NS seems to be able to count on less and less support from the government.
NS will not be worried in a few years, Magielse states in an explanation of the half -year figures that NS will publish on Wednesday. The company is profitable in 2027. Until that time, NS will not escape ‘unpopular measures’, says Magielse. Train tickets will become more expensive from January 1, the chance of a seat decreases, disruptive work remains the order of the day. In the meantime, there is still no new collective agreement and NS wants to save 200 million euros on structural costs (5 percent of the total).
Over the past six months, you transported more travelers, even more business travelers and more people during off -peak hours. Then why do you still suffer a loss?
“We are performing better than previous years, travelers were more often on time, but we are not yet cost -effective. Despite a growth of 2 percent in passenger kilometers, we are still not at the level of before the pandemic. Last six months we transported 93 percent of the number of travelers of 2019. We are not there yet.
“Office workers, but also students and students, are still working fully from home. This leads to a different travel pattern: a short, intense ‘hyper -striker’ on Tuesday and Thursday. Apart from these peaks and on other days there is still a lot of room on the train. On average, only 30 percent of the seats are occupied.”
Where is the financial pain then, despite the increase in travelers?
“First of all, we are struggling with an ‘inflation cat’ from the past of as many as 11 percent. That is the actual inflation versus the inflation that we were allowed to settle in our rates. That actual inflation was much higher than expected and caused higher operating costs in recent years. The cabinet did not want us to pass on that in the Treink cards.
“Furthermore, the scheme for employees with heavy professions, which may be in a new collective labor agreement, leads to an obligation of more than 200 million euros for the coming years. That concerns a large part of our staff: drivers, technicians, conductors already applied and is now going to apply to more people and for a longer period. This is also the more expensive.
And all those costs print on the train tickets. The prices will rise again from January 1. What exactly is that?
“That is a complicated story. Normally our rates follow inflation, but now we are in a period in which we have to catch up. Before 2025 we were originally needed an increase of 12 percent to cover costs and to compensate for inflation of previous years. At that time the government decided to take a third of that increase, 42 million, but not for the occasion, just like none of the time, just like no one was just like no one as well as no one as well as no one. Money more available.
“Now we have to pass on that falling government support, in addition to the regular inflation correction. NS ourselves absorbs part of the increase by saving on all kinds of costs-so we keep fewer trains for calamities. The estimate is now that travelers must take into account an increase between 6 and 9 percent.”
If you keep fewer trains behind it, it can give extra disturbances. The Ministry recognizes that and wants to settle for lower performance requirements for NS. You can guarantee travelers a smaller ‘seat opportunity’ in the rush. More expensive cards, less chance of sitting – isn’t that an impossible message?
“Very difficult, and not how we would like it. We encourage people to avoid the rush, and that is also possible for a large group of travelers. We always meet with the management on Wednesday, from 10 a.m.
“Two years ago we submitted a proposal for tariff differentiation, a spit levy or dalk discount, to tackle the pointed pressure. This would make up to 80 percent of the tickets cheaper.”
You looked at the resistance in The Hague.
“Yes, this plan had and has little political support. That is disappointing. It is frustrating that we had a solution and that it was torpedoed by parties who also do not want to free up extra money for public transport.
“Without structural government solutions – which seems to be cut back on public transport than to help us – cheese planing reaches its limit. Unpopular measures, such as scrapping the youth day card, will inevitably become.”
Do you do enough to become financially healthy?
“We have used structural cuts from 200 million, up to and including 2027. We reduce the staff at the head office, scales many projects, in particular in IT area. And we save in office space. We close a branch in Amersfoort and move the employees to Utrecht.”
And the personnel side? The unions recently rejected your collective labor agreement. The four strike days in June already cost you 20 million euros. How do you combine this with wanting to be attractive as an employer?
“That is a continuous search. We have to become financially healthy, keep the service up to date and remain an attractive employer. Rejecting the final bid means that we now have to meet each other to see exactly where the pain is.”
What help do you expect from The Hague in the coming period?
“We are trying to move the government about spreading the Spitspieken, for example through agreements with educational institutions on class times or tax measures for working from home. We cannot do this alone. Unfortunately, we see no concrete measures they have taken for us in this area.”
What do you expect from The Hague in the coming months, now that the elections are approaching?
“I fear that the upcoming election programs will pay little attention to public transport and rather cuts than compensation contains. The government has lowered the excise duty on gasoline, which makes driving reasons relatively cheaper and puts pressure on the attractiveness of the train. No party will probably reverse that excise tax reduction. All this makes the sale of our product, no matter how sustainable, not easier.”