The statement 'Yet in the rest of Europe trains continue to operate without any problems whatever the temperature.’ is patently untrue. There have been delays and breakdowns in France, the UK and maybe other countries as well

By Martyn | February 4, 2012 4:17 PM

There are two European countries where you can expect the transport infrastructure to crumble at the first sign of snow; The UK and the Netherlands. It always seemd to catch them by surprise despite the advanced warnings.

By groverpm | February 5, 2012 8:29 AM

Yes - because investing in infrastructure for one or two incidents of bad weather isn't cost effective in the UK or Holland. And during those years when you get no snow at all, you'll probably hear public backlash about the ridiculous waste of money it was to invest in said infrastructure.... It makes sense - the countries where it reliably snows every year will have better transport than those that don't.

By Stupid | February 5, 2012 1:55 PM

I just came back from Poland, which has -20 degrees and all trains are still running. When I asked an NS employee at Schiphol a forecast of the situation he reply rudely "everything will be good when sun will start shining". I don't pay high-speed abonament for this service...

By Ila | February 5, 2012 11:20 PM

I just can't believe it. The Dutch manage to keep this country afloat, yet, they seem incapable of making the trains run after a 3-hour snowfall. It's beyond me.

By phantom | February 6, 2012 10:11 AM

Saturday was a working day for me, meaning I travel first class with a discount, being reimbursed by my employer. However, my normal 2.5 hour route, including a stopover in Rotterdam, turned into a 5.5 hour commute between five trains and misdirected chaos. Even though the crowded cabins were packed full of everyone from parents and kids to dogs and avid mobile users, I didn't fault them for sharing the first class privacy I'd paid for. Nor was it surprising to suffer a loss of income because of arriving to work 2.5 hours too late. Yet, I DO blame NS for not preparing better for the predicted 10-day frost that they knew was coming. Free platform coffee just doesn't cut it.

By SM Gallagher | February 6, 2012 2:26 PM

This was a pretty week snowfall by most standards,why it had such a crippling effect here in the Netherlands is beyond me. During the worst of it I drove from my office in Rotterdam to home in Amsterdam on Friday -- it took me an hour and a half (driving about 85 kph) while my colleagues who took the train experienced a delay of 5 to 6 hours.
They keep prodding us to abandon our autos but they don't give us a reliable alternative.

By Quince | February 6, 2012 3:57 PM

I was planning a day trip to Aachen in Saturday but decided the morning of not to risk it. I just checked NS. What used to be (or usually is) a DIRECT train from Amstel to Heerlen has now morphed into a 3-stopover trek through pretty much all the hubs of the Netherlands resulting in a 33% increase in travel time (if we make all those connections). And this for a trip that might occur NEXT Saturday!!! How can one take the NS seriously if every time a snowflake or leaf falls on the tracks things go to pieces?

By Michael K | February 6, 2012 4:44 PM