About 105,000 buy Dutch €49 summer rail pass as demand overwhelms systems

About 105,000 people have purchased a discounted 49 euros per month summer train subscription in the Netherlands so far, officials said. The launch on Monday immediately ran into technical problems due to heavy demand, including website failures and later login issues caused by an ICT outage.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has allocated 118 million euros to fund the discount program. Officials say the budget is enough for up to 500,000 subscriptions per month.

Demand surged immediately. On the first day, the website suffered technical disruptions due to heavy traffic. On the second day, the NS reported login problems. The company said the issues were caused by an ICT malfunction, likely triggered by the volume of users.

State Secretary Annet Bertram (CDA) said she is pleased with the response. Speaking on the NPO Radio 1 program Dit is de Dag, she said, "That is really a lot. It is a unique experiment, and we are pleased with it.”