Cabinet works on structural solution to tackle increased NS ticket prices

State Secretary Chris Jansen (Public Transport and Environment) is trying to prevent the NS train tickets from rising sharply. He is hoping for a "structural solution" that will "cushion" the increase in fares not only in 2025 but also in the years after that. The minister will say more about this on Prinsjesdag, Jansen writes in a letter to Parliament.

The previous Rutte Cabinet prevented a sharp increase in ticket prices this year by allocating 120 million euros. However, an additional fare increase of 8.7 percent is planned for 2025 on top of the regular inflation adjustment. This means that the price of a rail ticket could increase by more than 10 percent.

Jansen wants to avoid another one-off solution, as this would leave "undesirable uncertainty" for travelers regarding ticket prices in subsequent years.

The State Secretary has listed several options to reduce ticket price increases but has not yet made a decision.

The first option he mentions is that the government will open its wallet every year to close the gap for which the NS finds the higher ticket prices necessary. The cost of this amounts to €124 million. The minister does not mention where this money will come from. At least there is little room in the mobility fund of his Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The minister also mentions the possibility of making agreements with the NS to work more efficiently. But such agreements have already been made, says Jansen. "With even more far-reaching agreements, there is a very high risk that these can only be achieved at the expense of ongoing operations and that this will ultimately lead to a poorer service for passengers or a reduction in the level of service or customer focus."

In the first half of 2024, NS suffered a loss of 33 million euros. According to its own information, NS has been affected by the structural decline in passenger numbers since the pandemic and is also suffering from the long-lasting effects of home office, NOS reports. "The support from the government last year was very nice. But in fact, with one-off support you only postpone a rate increase," a spokesperson for NS told the broadcaster.