Earlier this month ProRail performed its first tests with travelers on a self-driving train, and with great success, the rail manager said.
For five days, around 60 travelers per day rode the train running on Automatic Train Operation (ATO) between Groningen and Buitenpost and reported their experiences. The rail manager also researched the technology, the acceleration and braking systems, punctuality, energy consumption, and stopping in exactly the right place.
Winter storm Ciara, which hit the Netherlands on Sunday and was still causing traffic problems on Monday morning, was stronger than expected, according to a Weeronline meteorologist Yannick Damen. The strong winds caused damage across the Netherlands, mainly in the form of blown down trees, house facades, and roof tiles. But as far as is known, there were no major incidents, NOS reports.
Work will be carried out on the railways around Leiden Central Station from Saturday 8 to Sunday 16 February. This is expected to cause train traffic problems throughout the Randstad. NS and travelers' organization Rover urge train users to check the travel planner regularly and not to travel during peak hours. "Don't expect your trip to go as normal," NS said, NU.nl reports
Smoking will soon be forbidden at all train stations across the Netherlands, according to national railway NS. The organization is working with railroad infrastructure firm ProRail to expand the existing smoking ban to include platforms and other station facilities.
Smoking facilities on the platforms will be removed in October. ProRail previously said it would dismantle all areas where passengers may smoke by midway through 2021.
Eight railcars belonging to national rail operator NS were thoroughly covered in silver spray paint as they sat idle at the station in Wormerveer, Noord-Holland. Vandals painted all windows and doorways along the platform side of a pair of four-car trains, which were coupled in the middle.
"We find this incredibly antisocial," a spokesperson for the NS told RTL Nieuws. The affected train was removed from service and replaced with another vehicle. The NS said it has to remove the paint and clean the train.
A motorist was killed in a collision with a train at a guarded rail crossing in the Limburg town of Haelen on Wednesday evening. The passenger of the car was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. None of the people on the train were hurt, the police said in a statement.
The accident happened at around 7:45 p.m. on the level crossing on Roermondseweg in Haelen, near Roermond. So far nothing is known about the victims' identity.
If substantial investment is not made into climate-proofing the Dutch rail network, the consequences will be felt in the form of more rail traffic disruptions in the near future, according to ProRail. Especially extreme heat and heavy rain can cause problems, Onno Hazelaar and Stefan Jak of ProRail said to Trouw.
A passenger train derailment in Voorburg on Thursday was expected to interrupt scheduled service on the train route between The Hague and Utrecht through the night. There were no injuries among the passengers on the NS Intercity train when it went off the rails, according to rail infrastructure firm ProRail.
The Noord-Zuid subway line in Amsterdam will be extended to Schiphol and Hoofddorp within the next decade, and the estimated costs of the project are least 3 billion euros, the Volkskrant reports based on sources within the seven parties involved in the project.
A soaking wet train passenger and two others suffering from symptoms of hypothermia prompted an emergency response to Venlo, Limburg. One man had fallen into water in Eindhoven, and was pulled out by two others, a spokesperson for the fire department told AD. All three men are from Tanzania, and were taken to an area hospital for medical care, the police said in a separate statement.
Commuters throughout the Netherlands can expect thick fog along the roadways Thursday morning, and the reduced visibility was likely to cause problems throughout the morning at Eindhoven Airport. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning for the whole country except Zeeland and the Wadden Islands, with visibility falling below 200 meters in some places.
The foundation of the Dutch rail network is in many places not suitable to run trains faster and at higher frequency, a spokesperson for ProRail confirmed to NU.nl after TU Delft professor Rolf Dollevoet raised concerns in the Telegraaf. If the rails become even busier, some parts of the foundation could collapse.
The Dutch government is pushing over a billion euros into improving accessibility within the Netherlands. Schiphol Station will undergo major renovations for 237 million euros, and a high speed train line will soon link the northern cities of Leeuwarden and Groningen with the rest of the country, Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen and State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure and Water Management said in a letter to parliament.
The government can solve the nitrogen emission problem by making public transit a more attractive option with a massive investment, according to NS and ProRail. The rail manager and -company propose that the government invest over 20.6 billion euros in the railways until 2040, for dozens of improvements, AD reports.
The organizations want to shorten the travel time from Leeuwarden and Groningen to the Randstad by making adjustments to the Hanze line, for example. Train journeys from Twente, Nijmegen and Vlissingen can also be up to 30 minutes faster with specific adjustments
The government, ProRail, NS, Schiphol and the Amsterdam Transport Region are very nearly at an agreement regarding the expansion of Schiphol train station. The renovations, which will include larger access gates and a new bus station, are scheduled to start in 2022 and expected to cost some 500 million euros, AD reports based on draft plans the newspaper got a look at.
Damaged overhead lines between Hoofddorp and Leiden left three trains stranded on Thursday, ProRail reported. Around 1,400 passengers were evacuated. The stranded trains are currently being towed away.
"The contractor is currently inspecting the damage", ProRail said. "How long the repairs will take is not yet known." No trains are currently running between Hoofddorp and Leiden. "ProRail regrets the inconvenience for all travelers on this route."
If millions of euros aren't invested into upgrading railways and stations between Haarlem and Zandvoort, trains will no longer run to big events in Zandvoort like the Formula 1, NS and ProRail indicated according to a letter Haarlem alderman Robert Berkhout sent to the city council. According to a ProRail spokesperson, this is not an ultimatum, just an explanation of the actual situation, RTL Nieuws reports.
The public transit sector, cities and transport regions drew up long-term plans to make sure train transport can cope with the strong growth in passengers in the future. At least 20 billion euros will be needed for their plans, which span from 2020 towards 2040, the Telegraaf reports based on wish lists from the sector.
Many train stations in the Netherlands are not built to handle the expected growth in traveler numbers in the coming years. In order to prevent unclear and even dangerous situations on overcrowded platforms, rail manager ProRail is drawing up an emergency plan to keep the crowds under control, NU.nl reports.
Passenger and freight transport on the Dutch rails is expected to increase by 40 percent by 2040. This means that more trains will have to run, and more tracks will have to be built in the coming years to cope with this growth.
The most overcrowded train in the country runs between Oss and 's-Hertogenbosch Oost, according to NS. This sprinter that departs at 7:43 a.m. is around 40 percent more crowded than the maximum capacity of the train every day, with the exception of the weekend. The train that runs on this rout at 8:31 a.m. is also very popular, running at 28 percent over capacity every day, NOS reports.
NS expects a record number of 36.7 million passengers in September, 1.7 million more than the same month last year. The rail company is taking various measures to cope with the increasing crowds.
The largest bicycle parking garage in the world is opening in Utrecht on Monday. With 12,656 parking spaces, including 480 spaces for larger or oddly shaped bicycles like cargo bikes and tandems, the parking facility on Utrecht's station square easily breaks the previous record, held by a bike parking garage in Tokyo with 9,400 parking spaces, Trouw reports.
"From abroad, they look with jealousy at everything we do here for cycling", project leader Lidwien van Kessel of ProRail said to the newspaper. "We are at the forefront here."
After months of puzzling and work, ProRail announced its new train timetable for 2020. The main change is that more trains will run next year, also outside the Randstad. According to the rail manager, a new planning system means that the space on the track can be used even more efficiently next year, NOS reports.
Travelers association Rover wants rail manager ProRail and rail company NS to do more to make sure customers are inconvenienced as little as possible during rail works and breakdowns. The association made a number of recommendations on how to achieve this, including improving information provision to travelers, compensation for inconvenience, and using longer trains.
