People want to be able to travel problem-free: quickly, safely, conveniently and at any time. NS is helping to make that possible. To achieve this, we are extending our scope beyond the train. We are a broadly based service provider, enabling our passengers to seamlessly combine their social, recreational and business goals. Our activities are always centred on our passengers. We work to provide them with comfortable, easily accessible and efficient journeys from door to door that can be based on timely and up-to-date information.
Our employees – 36,000 staff, 33,000 FTEs at the end of 2017 – in the Netherlands and abroad work hard every day to achieve this. Together with our public transport partners, we work continuously on improving our services and on performance on the tracks, world-class stations, the customer experience and our own organisation. We are active in passenger transport and in station development and operation. We achieve revenues of €5.1 billion from that, 89% of it coming from passenger transport.
NS in the Netherlands and Europe
Ever since NS was founded – in 1837 as the HIJSM – we have been making a contribution to mobility and progress in the Netherlands. The company still plays a very significant social role in the domestic market. Since 2002, the NS subsidiary Abellio has been providing rail transport in parts of the United Kingdom and since 2009 in Germany. Our activities abroad earn money, teach us how we can improve our services, and prepare us for the possibility of further deregulation of the railway market. This is how they help us achieve our operational objectives and benefit our passengers in terms of an even better door-to-door journey.
Our organisation
NV Nederlandse Spoorwegen is at the head of a group that includes NS Operatie (approximately 13,000 staff), Commercie & Ontwikkeling (1,000), NS Stations (5,000, including retail) and Abellio UK (13,000), Abellio Germany (1,500) plus staff departments such as HR, Finance and IT.
NS Operatie is responsible for rail transport on the Dutch main rail network, including the HSL South. NS Operatie is the most visible part of NS. In addition to the staff on the trains and Safety & Service, it also covers maintenance, repairs and cleaning of our trains in the Netherlands, as well as modernising them and making them more sustainable.
Commercie & Ontwikkeling handles the development of train services and timetables in the medium and long term, as well as the sales and service activities associated with domestic and cross-border train transport. C&O is also responsible for customer service.
NS Stations works to create a good network of 410 stations, large and small. Together with ProRail, the authorities and all the carriers, NS Stations aims to make the journey and the time spent in and near the station as pleasant and comfortable as possible. Over recent years, NS Stations has worked with ProRail and various municipalities to rebuild major stations, emphasising that the stations should be ‘clean, intact and safe’. All activities – shops, services, facilities and transfer businesses – must make a contribution to improved passenger perceptions of the station and the journey.
Abellio UK acquires and runs rail and bus franchises in the United Kingdom (Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, ScotRail, West Midlands, Abellio UK Bus). 13,000 staff in the United Kingdom work together to transport 800,000 passengers a day. The West Midlands franchise was added to the portfolio at the end of December.
Abellio Germany is only involved in acquiring and operating rail franchises. In 2017, Abellio Germany was running six franchises in six contiguous federal states. Abellio Germany carries about 114,000 passengers a day. There are 1,400 employees working for Abellio Germany. At the end of December, Abellio became the sole owner of WestfalenBahn, which operates in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
Organisation chart
Rail franchises in Europe
Click on a franchise for details.