Dutch rail operator NS has announced improvements it plans to make to the train timetable in the Netherlands for 2026. Following the biggest rail expansion in years with the 2025 timetable, there will be even more trains running and new direct connections.

More NS trains running between Dutch cities

While NS is running extra trains in the 2025 timetable, the rail company wants to further expand on this for 2026. An additional train per hour will run between Amersfoort and Deventer on weekdays, bringing the total to four trains per hour, improving the transfer at stations in Apeldoorn, Zutphen and Deventer to Zwolle. 

On weekends, NS also wants to run double the number of Sprinter trains between The Hague and Dordrecht, so that four trains run per hour between 10am and 8pm on Saturdays. Weekends will also see more frequent Sprinters running between Utigeest and Amsterdam, upping the number of trains from two to four every hour and improving public transport services to Amsterdam Amstel, Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena, Abcoude and between Breukelen and Rhenen. 

The current train route running between Zwolle and Roosendaal will be extended to include Vlissingen once every hour, making Zeeland more accessible to travellers.

Trains in the Netherlands to run earlier and later

As part of the new timetable plans, NS also wants to run the first train connection of the day earlier and the last connection of the day later for several routes. 

Some of the lines that will see trains 30 minutes to an hour earlier include:

• Hilversum to Schiphol Airport 
• Schiphol Airport to Amersfoort Centraal

Routes that could see trains running up to an hour later include:

• Hoofddorp to Amsterdam Centraal
• Leeuwarden to Zwolle and Utrecht Centraal
• Den Haag Centraal, Utrecht Centraal and Amersfoort Centraal to Zwolle 
• Utrecht Centraal to Amersfoort Centraal and Zwolle
• Utrecht Centraal and Amersfoort Centraal to Deventer
• Den Haag Centraal to Breda
• Rotterdam Centraal and Dordrecht to Roosendaal
• Den Haag HS to Rotterdam Centraal

NS timetable could still change

Another change on the table is a slower travel speed of 80 kilometres per hour for trains between Den Bosch and Eindhoven. Trains will take longer on this route due to long-term construction work at Vught resulting in fewer trains stopping at Weert once per hour to continue to Utrecht and Amsterdam. 

Plans for the 2026 timetable have been released now, so that passenger organisations and regional authorities can comment on it and make suggested changes before it comes into effect in December. ProRail also determines whether the plans can be carried out before the final timetable is revealed in the autumn. 

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