Dutch rail claims improved on time performance, reduced crowding

So far the new NS timetable seems to have had positive consequences for passengers, according to the provisional 2017 performance figures the rail company released on Friday. Travelers could find a seat slightly more often over the past years, and fewer trains arrived late, NU.nl reports.

This year travelers could find a seat on a train 95 percent of the time, compared to 94.3 percent last year. And 91.6 percent of trains arrived on time, compared to 90.6 percent in 2016. The slightly better performance also resulted in passengers giving NS a slightly better score - 80 percent of travelers scored NS a 7 or higher this year, compared to 77 percent last year.

A year ago NS changed its timetable dramatically in order to cope with the increasing demand for public transit. With the new schedule NS runs more trains. 58 new Sprinters and a number of old double-decker trains are on the tracks, and an experiment to run trains every 10 minutes on the busy route between Amsterdam and Eindhoven did well.

In addition to NS' efforts, the weather also helped improve the rail company's performance. November is traditionally a difficult month for the carrier due to falling leaves, rain and storms. Due to somewhat calmer weather this November, 91 percent of NS trains were on time that month, compared to 85 percent in November 2016.