ProRail, the state-owned company which operates the national railway network, should be wound up and replaced by direct transport ministry control, MPs said on Tuesday.

The call follows a weekend of rail disruption centred on Utrecht after a fire. The incident is the latest in a string of failures to keep trains running, MPs say.
‘The tens of thousands of passengers who were stranded at the weekend are the last straw,’ ChristenUnie MP Arie Slob is quoted as saying by the Telegraaf. ‘We first talked about a back-up system five years ago and we made millions of euros available. But apparently the railway network is still vulnerable.’
Bringing the network back under ministry control would give transport minister and parliament ‘much greater say’ in running the rail infrastructure, he said.
Crisis of confidence
The VVD, the biggest party in the new government, backs the replacement of ProRail. ‘There is a crisis of confidence,’ said MP Charlie Aptroot. He pointed to last winter’s chaos caused by frozen points, numerous computer failures and ‘absurd’ salary claims.
‘I do not take this organisation seriously any more,’ Aptroot said.
Most other parties also called for direct ministerial intervention.
The NS and Prorail are state-owned but operate at arms length.