About the scope of this report

NS is based in the Netherlands and has a single, Dutch shareholder, the Dutch State. In this annual report, which was published on 25 February 2022, we primarily render account to our Dutch stakeholders for our potential social impact in the Netherlands. Even so, we also report on our international operations and have included a separate chapter for that purpose. NS focuses on passengers and enabling them to enjoy a comfortable door-to-door journey. To that end, NS's main priority is to improve operational performance on the railways, supported by the provision of, for instance, bicycle facilities and station services and by optimised door-to-door journeys thanks to public transport bicycles and collaboration with other partners in the public transport sector and elsewhere. In addition, we aim to remain financially healthy so as to be able to continue investing in services to meet the growing mobility needs in the Netherlands, and to keep train fares affordable. Indeed, this is what our stakeholders expect from us. They also want to see accountability for our non-financial results in the Netherlands.

In order to offer passengers the best possible service at the right price, we are also accumulating experience abroad. We monitor the extent to which our results in the United Kingdom and Germany add value for passengers in the Netherlands, in terms of cross-border travel, for example. Our international activities have to benefit the interests of our stakeholders in the Netherlands. According to our Dutch stakeholders, our activities in the United Kingdom and Germany are a materially relevant theme. Given Abellio's low positioning in the material relevance matrix, we do report on this subject but only in proportion to the financial impact of Abellio on NS as a whole. In tendering procedures, the franchising authorities set the terms of the franchised agreements, which leave less room for non-financial indicators. This is why there is less reporting on non-financial performance indicators.

Apart from the financial statements and the combined auditor’s report, the NS Annual Report for 2021 contains the following information:

• the Report of the NS Executive Board, including About NS; Trends, developments and strategy; Our activities and achievements in the Netherlands; Our activities and achievements abroad; Financial performance; Our impact; NS Group, excluding the Report of the Supervisory Board;

• the Report of the Supervisory Board;

• other data, in accordance with Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.

This annual report is subdivided into three blocks:

• A core report comprising the Foreword by the CEO, NS and COVID-19 in 2021, The profile of NS, Trends and developments, Our strategy, How NS adds value to society, Material relevance matrix, Our activities and achievements in the Netherlands, Our activities and achievements abroad, Financial performance, Our impact. For the operational results, the core of the report consists of the results that we have achieved within the franchise agreements with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for the Dutch main rail network.

• A section with other information including Corporate governance, Organisational culture, Integrity and Compliance, Risk management, and Dialogue with our stakeholders in the Netherlands.

• Financial statements.