NS to keep charging high-speed line surcharge despite Amsterdam-Rotterdam delays

The Dutch national railway said it will continue to charge the added surcharge when passengers use the Intercity Direct service between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, even if unexpected maintenance means the trip will be delayed by up to 15 minutes. The trip normally takes about 30 minutes, and costs an extra 2.90 euros.

"The high-speed train is no longer faster, so why is a surcharge still being charged? It seems more than reasonable to me to eliminate it," said Freek Bos from passenger advocacy organization Rover, in an interview with NOS.

Late on Thursday, it became clear that cracks on several bridges and viaducts meant the trains can only operate at up to 120 kilometers per hour instead of 160 km/h. Infrastructure firm ProRail initially said that the scheduled service would have to be significantly reduced.

After a more thorough review of data, the organisation said that all trains could run on the route, provided it is at the slower speed. "It is not known how long this speed restriction will last," ProRail said. In some parts, the speed has been at a maximum of 80 km/h for about a year and a half.

"The problems with this line have lasted far too long. Thousands of passengers are suffering from this, which is really very annoying," said NS CEO Wouter Koolmees. "That is not what this line is intended for. We see that ProRail takes this very seriously, and of course safety comes first, but we hope they resolve this as soon as possible."

The Intercity Direct service from NS uses the high-speed line between Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam and Breda. Eurostar international trains also use the line.