This makes me so angry. If we are to have any chance of surviving as a society beyond 2050, we need to dramatically reduce our car use. This means a massive modal shift to public transport. So what are NS doing to help this? Hiking prices, and taking actions to disincentivise travel. "Most of the day we're moving air" no you're moving people. You're providing a service. Public transport is there to transport the public. We need more of it. And it needs to be cheaper.
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/08/ns-to-get-the-green-light-for-higher-rush-hour-ticket-prices/
What makes this even more ineffective is that in .NL most people don't pay for their commute. Employers typically cover that. So if my train to work goes up by 25%, I don't care, I'm not paying. It's not going to make me not travel to work.
If your problem is overcrowding. Run more trains. I'm not seeing any announcements about how they are increasing capacity on the network.
Oh and maybe think about a better design than the VIRM. The dwell time on it is horrendous.
@quixoticgeek also, note that ProRail doesn't operate on a free market. They are owned by, and funded by, the Dutch Government¹
They are also the ones who decide the timetables and hence the frequency².
The capacity, therefore, is directly and indirectly managed by the democratic elected government: the Dutch People. And not, as many presume, by market capitalism.
¹ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProRail#Funding
² https://www.prorail.nl/over-ons/wat-doet-prorail/capaciteitsverdeling
@quixoticgeek https://www.prorail.nl/projecten