ProRail, NS want to run trains every 7.5 minutes

ProRail, NS and other stakeholders believe that the railway timetable can be further increased to cope with passenger growth in the coming years. In a joint exploration of the future, they've established that with a few smart adjustments on the so-called high frequency network, they can run trains every 7.5 minutes, NU.nl reports.

The route between Amsterdam and Eindhoven already works on a six trains per hour timetable, with a train running every 10 minutes. Extra trains will also run on other busy routes in the coming years. But this 'ten-minute train' is not always a faster solutions for travelers, because the transition to connecting trains that run once very 15 or 30 minutes ultimately does not save time.

"This ensures that travelers do not have a seamless connection on the busy routes and a number of locations", ProRail said, according to the newspaper. "We'll solve this by running eight trains per hour on the busiest routes. This provides better transfer options and more capacity."

Passenger numbers on the railways are expected to increase by 40 percent over the next decade. To accommodate the growth, ProRail is working on the track, on the stations and on an improved timetable.