The Dutch government - which tends to be liberal - has so far shown a certain reluctance to open up the network of NS (Nederlandse Spoorwege), the national railway company. In fact, it has extended the ten-year monopoly concession to NS in 2015The concession will therefore expire at the end of 2024.
However, things are changing. The government has just approved a first concession to the operator Arriva Netherlands, international subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn. The operator is Europe's leading private transport company, handling more than two billion passengers a year in 14 countries across the continent. Arriva NL submitted an application to operate open-access regional rail services in June.
Two night lines, one day line
Authorisation was granted on 16 September by the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM). In the first phase, the company intends to offer three rail routes. Two night services should link Amsterdam Schiphol airport with Groningen in the north-east and Maastricht in the south of the country.. The service would run weekly, enabling passengers to arrive at the airport very early in the morning to take advantage of all the connections. This approach would reduce car traffic to the airport and would therefore be ecologically viable.
The other line will be a day service between two towns in the centre of the Netherlands, Apeldoorn and Amersfoort. It would operate up to five times a day. The rail operator will bear all the costs and risks associated with the services. Arriva will not receive any official concession from the Dutch state.
Under current EU regulations, so-called "open access" rail services can be launched this year. To the condition that they do not have a significant negative impact on an existing public service contract. Following an investigation, the ACM concluded that the new concession would have a negligible negative impact. It would have a 0.03 points on the NS profit margin. Arriva plans to start operating its services in December 2022.
According to Anne Hettinga, Managing Director of Arriva Netherlands, "Open Access will be new territory for us, but we welcome the opportunity to enhance our passenger offering and expand our portfolio of public transport operations in the Netherlands."
