It’s not like NS can run anything past midnight anyway
Transport company Arriva has plans for a night train between Groningen and the Randstad (Amsterdam) with Schiphol as its final destination. The plan would require Arriva having access to ‘national’ railway lines, which are now only intended for the NS to run its slow, regularly-interrupted, and extortionately expensive service. Arriva director Anne Hettinga says it is time to do something about the (un-)competitive position of NS.
According to Hettinga, the current cabinet has done everything it can to further reduce the liberalisation of the railways. Arriva is only allowed to provide regional transport, and only on lines that NS has deemed ‘unprofitable’. As reported by the GIC.
The near-monopoly is now affecting travellers, and Arriva has submitted a request to the Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) to run its nigh service from 2023. A night train would also run from Maastricht to Schiphol. The Ministry of Infrastructure will consider the request.
European legislation makes it possible to allow Arriva on the rail network, but only if this is not detrimental to the current concession holder NS. Arriva director Hettinga also does not think that is the case, stating that no train runs on the route at night and the plan does not compete with the NS.
A next step would be for Arriva to also set up a timetable outside peak hours.
