NS estimates over 44,000 trips lost to Prinsjesdag rail sabotage

The rail sabotage on Prinsjesdag, 15 September, led to an estimated 44,000-plus train trips not being made, NS has told the government. State Secretary Bertram gave the figure in answers to parliamentary questions, received on 28 October. NS based it on a comparison of expected and actual passenger numbers across the 40 disruptions in central and eastern Netherlands.

Bertram said passengers either did not reach their destination or arrived much later, and that the rail operators lost income. The exact economic and financial impact cannot be established, she said, but the damage was considerable.

On the day itself, the number of crowded trains was about twice the usual. Cancelled trains and disrupted rolling stock circulation caused extra crowding in the following days too. ProRail, which manages the track, also incurred costs for staff deployment and for fixing the disruptions.

Because of the train protection system, signals on the affected track sections were set to red. Only at Steenwijk did a train hit material on the track. It had no consequences because the train was already running at reduced speed, Bertram said. She said the system's working at dozens of locations at once prevented worse accidents.

Bertram said the sector feels a strong sense of urgency. The actions underline that the rail network is vulnerable, she said, because it is impossible to fully secure 7,000 kilometres of track.