NS commission members named: former train boss is among them

Junior transport minister Wilma Mansveld on Tuesday announced the members of two commissions to look into problems on the Dutch railways.

Neither commission has anything to do with the recent debacle around the Fyra high-speed train, according to sources in the Telegraaf.

Chairman of both commissions is Wim Kuijken, the government’s commissioner for the Delta programme of dyke improvement. Members include former Labour minister Hans Alders, former FNV trade union leader Agnes Jongerius and the VVD councillors Eric Wiebes (Amsterdam) and Jeannette Baljeu (Rotterdam).

Also named as a commission member is former NS CEO Aad Veenman, who was responsible for ordering the Fyra trains in 2004. He will sit on the sounding-board commission.

What passengers want

That commission will advise Mansveld on what those involved in the railways want, including passenger groups and staff. The second commission, the Critical Review Team, will look at how policy decisions are made.

The commissions have been set up following Mansveld’s report in February to parliament. Her report dealt with subjects such as the winter weather problems and whether or not the split between the NS (trains) and ProRail (track) should be retained.

For the problems with the Fyra service, which was scrapped by the government at the beginning of June, MPs are demanding a parliamentary inquiry. No date has yet been set.

 

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