Trains back home? They eliminated ours in 1986. Now if I want to take a train, I have to travel 300 kms north to some hick town in northern Ontario to catch one at midnight.

Short answer: Dutch trains are much better!

By CW | August 21, 2012 9:11 AM

dutch railways are comfortable and convenient. but nevertheless they are way too costly. I commute everyday by NS trains, and mostly they are on time. atleast 90% of the time. but they shold seriously think of doing some smart business here. like running less train in off peak hours and decreasing the fares, etc

By Supratip | August 21, 2012 9:49 AM

Excellent, a service rather than a greedy, money grubbing exercise like in the UK.

By Andrea Hammond | August 21, 2012 9:49 AM

When I traveled to Hoorn, the train toilet was jammed, overflown and stinking. This made me feel, like I'm back home...

By George | August 21, 2012 9:57 AM

I use the train 5 times a week to go to work and I rate the Dutch railway service extremely good. I understand the anger and frustration on the moment things go wrong, but truly if you look at the full year, and the amount of delay it is very small (back home a 15min delay would not even be considered a "real" delay).

By the_expat | August 21, 2012 11:20 AM

They should rather focus on the quality improvement before planning to expand the connection to new stations. In the last few months, too many disruptions have been encountered due to lack of maintenance

By Giuseppe | August 21, 2012 11:36 AM

Usually pretty good,regular time services. On the whole,a good network ,punctuality not too bad. Trains get quite busy,even crowded and cramped at weekends. Fares reasonable by comparison with the UK though not always very impressed with speed of Dutch rail services. They take their time on some of the rural routes for sure - and there are plenty of communities still that could do with [re]connecting to the network

By Lee Brown | August 21, 2012 2:18 PM

I think NS trains are very good. I only have two complains.
First I find them VERY dirty most of the times, and secondly I would like to have better connection from Arnhem to Maastricht-Luik/Liege...

By Ivan | August 21, 2012 2:35 PM

I also regularly use NS trains and rarely have cause to complain. When I hear Dutch people complaining about the trains here I just tell them to try British trains sometime - much more often running late and way more expensive.

By Simplastic | August 21, 2012 2:37 PM

For all of you who are complaining, try living elsewhere and see how you like it. We have one of the best train services in the world here in the Netherlands so don't knock it.

By Eurobazz | August 21, 2012 3:41 PM

The Dutch Railways may be "expensive" but at least their ticketing system is not impenetrable like that in the UK. I spoke to an NS counter staff member, and she said that the most common question from UK visitors was "is this ticket valid on this train". She could not understand this until I explained the byzantine system that operates in the UK, where you can be fined for getting out at the wrong station (!!). She understood a little better what the problem was then.

By Gemma | August 21, 2012 3:51 PM

the UK rail system is overcrowded and over priced.. travelled by NS rail..far superior....

By john m | August 21, 2012 4:22 PM

The service is excellent only that they have some short comings with 1 cm of snow or a temperature of 26 degree the trains traffic are distrusted. The NS management are not showing any kind of improvement on this matter year come and go the problem still persist. I think it is because of the monopoly that they enjoy in NL market. Let is wait when the other European players enters into the market how will NS react to that.

By Mo | August 21, 2012 8:05 PM

The train companies (there are 5 of them, let's not forget) operating here are better than the ones operating in Italy for most part, but I point out three shortcomings of Dutch various railways:

1) they lack more direct trains between the extremes of the country, like non-stop Groningen-Utrecht or Maastricht-Amsterdam trains.

2) Many Intercity stops should be cancelled and only stoptreinen or Sprinter should call there to speed up Intercity service.

3) You can't reserve a seat, which would be nice if implemented together with (1)

@Giuseppe: lack of maintenance in rail tracks would be a Pro-Rail problem. Pro-Rail is a state-controlled enterprise.

By Andre L. | August 21, 2012 10:47 PM

The dutch have nothing to complain about.The train services here on the national lines are pathetic

By oj | August 22, 2012 5:23 AM

@CW I feel your pain. In the 70's the Canadian rail system was incredible. It was away to see our nation and a way to let your children see our country and cultures. From Coast to Coast they were a hotel on rails .
The service and schedule were THE pride of the nation. Thanks to unions that all came to a halt in the 80's a shame on them!

By tobias | August 22, 2012 6:09 AM

NS trains need to be cleaner: some cabins are really disgusting. Are there fines for people who are caught dirtying the cabins? There could be an alarm system to inform the conductor and catch the contraveneres red-handed; signs may be put up in each cabin not to use the opposite seat as a footrest with the shoes on; upholstery of seats will keep cleaner if it's imitation leather.

By Paula | August 22, 2012 10:33 AM

I've travel 5x a week between AMS and Den Haag. NS is simply fantastic!

Compared to train services back home in Mumbai and within India (imagine suburban trains carrying 4 times their max capacity, with delays easily of upto 15-30 mins [suburban] and upto 3 days [inter-state] !!!) ... there is no comparison. NS rocks !!

Sure: they do slip up once in a while, mostly in winter, but that's tolerable.

Also: given my experience of frequently travelling to Germany, NS is miles ahead of DB ... !!

By Neil | August 22, 2012 4:15 PM

Trains could be better, like in Switzerland where you can time your watch by them and they are far cleaner. Here in NL, controllers are too lazy to check tickets, and fraudsters can travel long distances without paying which is not fair on the honest travellers. Also people sit in 1st class without paying the supplement, unlawfully depriving me of a seat which I've paid for. Controllers should do their jobs and we wouldn't have these problems. NS should be privatised and only then will it become a truly customer-focused organisation as opposed to allowing overpaid staff to sit and do nothing. This is Dutch taxpayer's money which is being wasted.

By John Fahrtpants | August 22, 2012 5:42 PM