More trains Utrecht-Leiden line from Summer

NS and Prorail are attempting to alleviate congestion on the Utrecht-Leiden line with more double-deckers, extra maintenance and longer trains, which will come into effect during the Summer, the AD reports Travelers have had to deal with several disruptions and general faults on this line. At the beginning of this week, when delays lasted two days. Prorail has renewed a crossing near Bodegraven. This wasn't configured properly, causing peak hour congestion. Mercedes Grootscholten of Prorail says that disruptions on single tracks are especially difficult, as there is "no possibility to divert the trains. So this causes more delay than normal." Averagely, throughout the year, this particular line does not experience more delays or disruptions than other lines in The Netherlands. The frequency of double-decker trains has already increased, however, says Ingeborg de Boer of the NS. Now, the transporter uses double deckers for one quarter of all the trips, which catches the peak hour traffic sufficiently, she says. That change is permanent. The number of complaints has gone down, but Inge Rijgersberg of the NS, who is responsible for the trains and the time table, does not have exact figures. Further measures to alleviate congestion include longer trains. Because Leiden Centraal Station is rather short, there will be a maximum of seven cars. At calmer times during the day, there will also be extra capacity.