A sustainable and accessible Netherlands

A quick overview of the strategy

NS ensures that the Netherlands remains sustainably accessible, and we are committed to continuing this. With our long history, experience and strong connection to society, we look ahead.

We believe in a world where people keep meeting—where the train plays a central role.

Part of the solution

Population growth, economic growth and limited space present major challenges, alongside the increasing impact of climate change. These demand sustainable solutions.

The train offers these opportunities. In fact, NS is part of the solution to these societal challenges. Sustainable access to new neighbourhoods is only possible near stations with good public transport connections. No one wants more traffic jams. NS provides the sustainable accessibility needed.

On the road to growth

The COVID-19 pandemic has had and continues to have major effects on NS. We expect to reach the 2019 passenger numbers again only by 2030. After that, train use will grow rapidly.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the Central Planning Bureau expect at least a one-third increase in train kilometres by 2040 compared to today.

This presents a great opportunity for NS but also requires tough choices. Growth is not a goal in itself, but a condition for keeping the Netherlands accessible. Therefore, we focus entirely on what we do best: getting travellers from A to B. We already do this well—and want to do it even better.

Reliable, affordable, committed

Our three guiding principles support this: reliable, affordable and committed. Everything we do revolves around these themes.

• Reliable means you can count on us on the train and at the station. We work every day to improve punctuality, provide seats and ensure you feel safe.
• Affordable means you get good value for your money, and our spending and investments reflect our financial situation.
• Committed means we operate responsibly and aim to contribute to society.

These principles prepare us for 200 years of NS.

Choices

In the coming years, there will be shortages in three areas: staff, funding and infrastructure. This makes it especially challenging to provide a reliable train service. The Netherlands must be able to count on us now and in the future.

Some things will stay the same. We provide welcoming and safe stations with good facilities for OV-fiets, bicycle and car parking. We encourage smooth connections between train, bus, tram and metro. Internationally, we promote train travel for journeys up to 700 kilometres. We also encourage people to travel more often outside peak times and spread their journeys throughout the week. This helps keep train fares affordable.

Scarcity also forces us to make choices. We are ending certain activities. For example, we will no longer participate in foreign concessions and will focus entirely on the Dutch traveller. Besides the train, we are concentrating mainly on the OV-fiets as shared transport. When investing in stations, we prioritise where it benefits you as a traveller and the Netherlands most.

Investing to grow

To realise our strategy, we need proud and healthy NS employees—passionate colleagues who enjoy working here and stay. They make the difference in everything we do.

The labour market remains tight and one third of our colleagues are 55 or older. Therefore, we recruit and retain people by offering meaningful work and investing in a healthy working environment. We organise work differently and use technology so we can continue to grow with manageable workloads and cost awareness.

We also invest in our trains: for replacement and to carry more travellers. We are exploring smarter use of rail infrastructure to improve timetables. Innovation and technology play an important role.

In the coming years, extensive work will take place on tracks and stations. This causes disruption, while we want to keep encouraging you to travel with us. There is plenty to do to be ready for growth.

200 years of NS

For nearly 200 years, we have been rooted in society. In the nineteenth century, we pioneered to make the Netherlands accessible. Now, we have an extensive network of tracks and stations that quickly and comfortably connect people.

Every day, we put our shoulders to the wheel. When we stay on track, we can expand: with more train connections, more stops, more seats and better punctuality. This ensures the Netherlands remains sustainably accessible, for generations to come.

We have a great past and an exciting future.