The corona crisis has enormous consequences for all kinds of sectors, they are also feeling these consequences in the transport sector. The Dutch Railways reports on their website that the total number of train passengers this year is expected to be about 45 percent of last year's train passengers. This is quite a difference and was caused by the consequences of the corona crisis. Many people work from home and the new lock down will not do any good either. The cabinet has called on everyone to only travel by public transport if it is really necessary.

“The return of the train passenger is the top priority for 2021,” explains the new chairman of the NS Marjan Rintel. “Thanks to Corona, we feel more than ever the value of travel. The freedom to come and go wherever you want. The return of the train passenger after Corona is in the interest of the whole of the Netherlands. If all travelers hit the road, the country would get stuck and the sustainability ambitions would be out of sight. The Netherlands simply needs public transport to be able to fulfill the agreements in the climate agreement and to connect all parts of the Netherlands with each other. ”

The Dutch Railways therefore wants to do everything in its power to get the train passengers to return next year. If all train passengers continue to avoid the train and take the road, traffic will jam and we will have other problems, such as more CO2 emissions. In 2019, an average of 1,3 million train passengers traveled per day, this year it is an average of 580.000 per day. It remains to be seen what the corona virus has in store for us, and whether the possible vaccinations against the corona virus will bring about rapid changes. 

“The return of the train passenger is the top priority for 2021,” explains the new chairman of the NS Marjan Rintel. “Thanks to Corona, we feel more than ever the value of travel. The freedom to come and go wherever you want. The return of the train passenger after Corona is in the interest of the whole of the Netherlands. If all travelers hit the road, the country would get stuck and the sustainability ambitions would be out of sight. The Netherlands simply needs public transport to be able to fulfill the agreements in the climate agreement and to connect all parts of the Netherlands with each other. ”

Also read: The number of ticket service counters at stations is decreasing