Critical State Secretary Heijnen demands an explanation from NS about the malfunction
State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen of Infrastructure and Water Management believes that the NS has made “a very bad turn” with the train failure on Sunday.
She believes that the way in which the carrier dealt with the disruption was “really substandard”, and wants to hear from the management how this came about.
“I want to hear from the NS exactly why the entire train traffic has been shut down and why no replacement transport has been arranged. Travelers received little information and no alternative, which means that the approach to this disruption was really substandard,” says the State Secretary in a written response. “I would therefore like to know from the management of NS how they will ensure that this does not happen again in the future.”
Train traffic was halted almost all day on Sunday due to a technical malfunction. The NS said that it was not possible to use alternative transport, such as buses, due to the magnitude of the disruption.
NS is an independent company, but the Dutch state is the sole shareholder. This is because, according to the government, the railways are part of the vital infrastructure in the Netherlands and play an important economic role. Together with Schiphol, Tennet and the Port of Rotterdam, among others, it is one of the companies that the State does not want to sell.
It is not yet clear when the State Secretary will meet with the NS management.