Dutch NS cuts 500 office jobs and raises train ticket price

Dutch Railways NS plans to cut 500 jobs at its headquarters in Utrecht through natural staff turnover to cut costs. Another saving measure is that the rail company is also investigating whether the refurbishment of trains can be scaled down. All measures together should lead to annual savings of 200 million euros.

NS lost 109 million euros in the first half of this year. This is the loss before deduction of taxes, among other things. In 2023, a loss of 87 million euros went into the books. An increase in the price of train tickets, which will be 8,7% more expensive as of January, should ensure higher income. Trade unions and travel organizers are reacting angrily.

Only essential refurbishment work

NS employs almost 19,000 people, mainly on the trains and stations. The railroad company is keeping this group out of this reorganization. However, to save costs, the railroad company is also going to dispose of office space and reduce the number of IT systems.

Furthermore, NS also wants to see if it is possible to save on train refurbishment. The trains NS uses usually last 30 to 40 years. Halfway through, they get refurbished. NS now wants to do only the essential refurbishment work and not, for example, also equip the old trains with USB ports.

More passengers, but still a loss of €109 million

All measures together should lead to annual savings of 200 million euros because NS posted a gross loss of 109 million euros in the first half of this year, compared to a loss of 87 million in the same period last year.

According to NS, the cost of running trains was again higher than the revenue from selling train tickets and season tickets. People did travel more by train in the first half year. For example, the number of passenger kilometers increased by more than 6% compared to the same period in 2023. But that’s still fewer than before the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, the lasting impact of the rise of working from home is causing structurally fewer travelers.

New Dutch government is not happy to help out

Cost savings are necessary to improve performance and keep the train ticket “as affordable as possible,” according to NS. Yet travelers will also feel the pinch.

Earlier this year, it was already announced that the price of train tickets and season tickets threatens to rise sharply next year, possibly by more than 10%. For this year, the NS was still able to postpone a previously planned fare increase due to a contribution of 120 million euros from the central government, but that no longer seems possible next year: from January, train tickets would become 8.7% more expensive.

On top of that comes a percentage the NS wants to compensate for inflation. The company will announce how much the price will rise later this year.

“Make performance better”

According to Algemeen Dagblad newspaper, the union FNV and travelers’ organization Rover are outraged. The union is upset because the plans are a big surprise and have never been discussed at the monthly formal consultations.

Rover, on the other hand, thinks that the NS should perform better first. According to the travelers’ organization, travelers avoid public transport because of delays and poor connections. In addition, NS is still running fewer trains on several routes. “Perhaps the NS could do something about that first. Then more people will automatically travel by train,” the organization says.