Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Crowded train
Crowded train - Credit: @michellekroekie / Twitter - License: All Rights Reserved
Nijmegen University
NS
overcrowded trains
Roger van Boxtel
universities
University of Amsterdam
University of Groningen
University of Leiden
University of Utrecht
Wednesday, 2 March 2016 - 11:01
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Railway: Dutch universities need to adapt schedules around rush hour

NS wants Dutch universities to adapt their schedules so that students can travel outside rush hour. This should help relieve the pressure on overcrowded trains. And according to NS CEO Roger van Boxtel, many universities are willing to be flexible about this. Van Boxtel came up with this suggestion about 4 months ago, but received no support from politics or the education world. Nevertheless, he decided to push through and approach the universities themselves. "And the educational institutions offer a helping hand." he said to De Stentor. "We love students as much as our other customers, but we are looking into whether we can spread them out." According to Van Boxtel, a number of universities are willing to help. The University of Utrecht, for example, is looking into changing the rosters for first-year students, who often still live at home. The university is also considering incentives for students traveling outside rush hour, like a free cup of coffee or extra discount, Marieke de Bakker, head of student counselling at the university, explained to the newspaper. "I've already been to Nijmigen. Next week I'm going to the University of Leiden, and I'm still talking in Amsterdam", Van Boxtel said. "It mainly concerns the busiest nodes. But the universities of Groningen and Enschede already said that they are flexible. This will really help in crowded trains." If all goes as Van Boxtel hopes, the new start later end later timetables will be implemented from the 2016/2017 academic year. A total of 650 thousand students in the Netherlands have a public transport card. During rush hour they account for over a third of all passengers.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • CEO: Air France-KLM takes planet health very seriously
  • Cable car over Amsterdam IJ River could depart from Westerpark area metro station
  • Rotterdam's public transport company RET facing serious financial trouble
  • Lifeguards warn water still too cold for long swims despite rising temperatures
  • Dutch central bank leader Knot concerned after employees win substantial wage increases
  • PM Rutte acknowledges making mistakes with Groningen gas extraction

Top stories

  • Investigators find €80 million in cocaine at Dutch ports
  • Appeal denied: Joran van der Sloot temporarily extradited to U.S. tomorrow
  • Amsterdam to ban polluting traffic in large parts of the city from 2025
  • Hundreds of young Dutch people at risk of forced marriage during summer holiday
  • Dutch PM says blowing up Ukraine’s dam is a war crime
  • Grants will definitely replace student loan system this year; Applications start soon

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content