Train passengers from Netherlands to Belgium or Germany must reserve a seat from mid-June. The NS wants to limit the crowds.
The international trains have been overcrowded since the corona pandemic. Last year, a record number of people booked a trip with the NS to our country. That crowding led to big problems. For example, travellers often could not go along and trains had to skip stations because they already had too many passengers.
The NS is taking measures to prevent new problems, writes the AD. People wishing to travel to Belgium and Germany must reserve a seat on the train from 17 June to 18 August inclusive. According to the NS, this improves comfort and safety during the train journey.
The measure applies to all ICE trains. The NS extends the trains if possible. In the end, new equipment will have to come, the newspaper writes.
In addition, fewer cheap tickets will be available for the trip to Belgium. Only outside rush hour you can travel to Brussels for 25 euros.
The Intercity Brussels has become busier because the Thalys and the Eurostar are also often full. Travellers then choose the intercity as an alternative.
Interest groups ANWB, the Fietsersbond, KBO-PCOB and Rover are angry. They call the measures “a wrong development”. The NS makes international travel by train much more unattractive, they think.
