A separate second class train ticket will be 5.5 percent more expensive next year than the current rate. On the other hand, the price for unlimited travel during rush hours or on a fixed route will be reduced by more than 2 percent. The price increases are effective January 1. That has announced the NS in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The company claims to correct the fares on the basis of inflation, but nevertheless wants to make train travel more attractive.
Also read: Public transport in the Netherlands is stuck
On average, traveling by train will be 4.3 percent more expensive than it is now. NS driver Tjalling Smit says that the railway company is dealing with “towering inflation”, which will make train travel more expensive in the coming years and will cost NS 100 million euros more. “The NS itself brings that in,” says Smit. He compares the price increases with the increased fuel costs and concludes that traveling by train is generally cheaper than by car.
This week a new timetable has been introduced at the NS whereby fewer trains run and there is therefore more crowds in the compartments of the devices that continue to run. The reason is the shortage of drivers and conductors. The company has more than 2,000 open positions. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recently concluded that public transport in the Netherlands is hardly a good alternative to get to school or work for residents outside large cities.