Dutch Rail (NS) will operate reduced intercity services in much of the country on Sunday and Monday as efforts to reduce the effect of the cold weather on rail services continue

News agency ANP reports rail operator ProRail had hundreds of staff on duty overnight to try to keep crucial points ice-free.
The Dutch railway system is separated into a passenger arm – the NS – and rail operator ProRail which runs the tracks. Both companies are 100% state-owned.
As criticism of the chaos on the railways continued, NS chief executive Ingrid Thijssen told Radio 1 her company is not to blame for the problems. The NS had enough trains and personnel on standby but ‘the tracks did not do it’, she said, refering to ProRail.
Transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen has asked both the NS and ProRail to explain the problems which led to thousands of passengers being stranded during and after Friday’s snowfall.
New rules
Similar problems last year led the minister to bring in new guidelines for providing passenger information during bad weather.
Rail users organisation Rover called on the minister to get tough on the NS for failing to provide proper information to passengers.
‘Last time they blamed special snow flakes, now it is hardened ice,’ spokesman Chris Vonk is quoted as saying in the Telegraaf. ‘Yet in the rest of Europe trains continue to operate without any problems whatever the temperature.’
Cold snap
The Netherlands is now officially in the grip of a cold spell because the temperature has not risen above zero since January 29 and the temperature at night has been as low as -10 Celsius for the third night in a row.
There have been 32 official cold snaps since 1901, according to website weeronline.nl.
On Sunday there were reduced speed limits on many roads because of the freezing conditions.