A ticket for the train could be a lot more expensive next year, the NS expects by around 10 percent. The carrier ended last year in the red again and cannot financially manage not to increase the price of the tickets.
Last year, the NS suffered a loss of 191 million euros, as became clear from the company’s annual figures. Although this is less than the loss for 2022, which was 421 million euros, the carrier does not yet want to talk about healthy business operations. The loss is partly due to the sharply increased energy prices and the still lower passenger numbers. That number is still not at the level before the corona pandemic.
Not this year, next year for real
This year, train travelers were also faced with a significant increase in ticket costs. But due to financial support from the government, approximately 120 million euros, the increase of 8.67 percent did not take place. But support from the government is not a structural solution, according to the NS itself. So the rate increase will still come in 2025 and could amount to more than 10 percent, the annual report states.
For a return ticket between Central Station and Groningen you already pay 58.80 euros, with the increase this will soon jump to almost 65 euros. You will also spend almost ten euros for a one-way ticket between CS and Utrecht. The prices are without a discount subscription, for example during off-peak hours.
Besides the fact that the number of passengers is still not up to standard and that losses have been incurred again, the transport of passengers did not go smoothly for the NS. For example, fewer travelers arrived at their destination on time, 89.7 percent compared to 91.6 percent in 2022, and fewer people could sit on the train.
‘Year with two faces’
Wouter Koolmees, CEO of the NS, himself speaks of a year with ‘two faces’. “Where dozens of trains per day were canceled in 2022 due to staff shortages, the consequences for our travelers were much less noticeable last spring thanks to all our efforts. How different the autumn was, in which travelers suffered a lot from delays, disruptions and overcrowded trains. This must be better for travelers.”
One problem that Koolmees talks about, among other things, is the major system failure at the traffic control post in Amsterdam. In June, train traffic around Amsterdam was halted for more than 12 hours due to a broken hardware part in traffic control. Other disruptions are, for example, on the high-speed linewhich is not safe enough for normal speed in a number of parts, and several defective overhead lines, which meant that train traffic was not running for a while.