Junior transport minister Wilma Mansveld wants longer trains and fewer cuts to services during winter weather, she told parliament on Thursday in a briefing.

Last winter’s cuts in services on snowy days meant it was less busy on the railway and disruption was contained.

‘On the other hand, passengers were confronted with fewer, often crowded trains,’ Mansveld said.

She wants track operator ProRail to look at how local disruptions can be avoided and to speed up the repair of defective points.

The evaluation of the winter service set up last year shows the railway will always be vulnerable during severe weather. ‘But the situation was mainly manageable compared with the previous three winters,’ the minister said.