ARRIVA Netherlands has submitted a request to the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM) to take over 26 train services operated by Netherlands Railways (NS) under its current mainline concession and a new concession, which is due to come into effective in December 2024.
The request concerns 24 stopping and two inter-city services, which would be operated as open-access services. “We are applying now, before an irrevocable decision is taken by the Dutch government by the direct granting of the main line concession, valid until 2033, to Netherlands Railways (NS),” Arriva Nederland explains.
Arriva Netherlands wants to start taking over train services from NS step-by-step starting in 2026 and running through to 2033. As these services are part of the mainline concession, this would disrupt the NS monopoly on the most profitable part of the Dutch rail network. Arriva also wants to introduce new services in 2027 such as Amsterdam - Hoorn, Vlissingen - Breda and Zwolle - Lelystad.
Most of the proposed services serve the highly-populated Randstad conurbation covering Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Arriva also wants to operate the Amsterdam - Brussels inter-city service, the most important Dutch cross-border train service.
The lines for which Arriva has requested permission to operate comprise:
- 2026: Amsterdam - Hoofddorp, Heerlen - Eindhoven, Apeldoorn - Enschede, Lelystad Centrum - Zwolle
- 2027: Zwolle - Utrecht, Amsterdam/The Hague Central - Brussels
- 2028: Tilburg University - Weert, Deurne - ‘s Hertogenbosch, Ede Wageningen - Arnhem, Zutphen - Wijchen, Arnhem - Tilburg - Dordrecht
- 2029: Breda - Vlissingen, Dordrecht - Roosendaal, Dordrecht - The Hague Central
- 2031: Almere Centrum - Utrecht, Rhenen/Veenendaal - Utrecht - Breukelen/Amsterdam, Tiel/‘s Hertogenbosch - Utrecht - Woerden/Gouda, Baarn - Utrecht, Hoofddorp - Amsterdam South - Utrecht
- 2032: Amsterdam - Amersfoort Vathorst, Almere Oostvaarders - The Hague Central, Lelystad - Amsterdam, and
- 2033: Rotterdam - Gouda - Amsterdam - Uitgeest, Amsterdam - Zandvoort aan Zee, Amsterdam - Hoorn, Haarlem - The Hague Central.
Negotiations regarding the new mainline concession are underway and are expected to be completed by December 23. However, the legality of the planned direct grant concession is contested.
The European Commission says directly granting a concession to NS is a breach of European regulations and it has started infringement proceedings at the European Court of Justice. Public transport operators like Arriva, Keolis, QBuzz and Transdev, which are members of the Federation of Dutch Mobility Companies (FMN), are also contesting the direct granting of another main line concession to NS and plan legal action if the concession is awarded to NS.
