Dutch Rail (NS) carried 3% more passengers last year, a slowdown on the 5% increase recorded in 2006 and 2005.

‘Passenger numbers have gone up 13% over three years. And that is a sizeable performance,’ NS CEO Aad Veenman said at the presentation of the figures on Friday.
Veenman said the new routes and timetable introduced in 2006 are proving their worth and the railways are benefiting from increasing road congestion.
Some 87% of trains now arrive within three minutes of their official arrival time, Veenman said.
Net profit rose to €337m last year from €310m in 2006 while turnover rose 5% to €4bn in 2007.
Last year the company, which is 100% state owned, invested €593m in new trains and in developing stations, a trend which will continue for several years, Veenman said.