Accessibility

NS is the concession holder for the main rail network. Our task arising from the main rail network concession is to provide passengers with the best possible transport product, facilitate an optimal and barrier-free door-to-door journey for passengers and make the best social use of public investments in the rail system. Attractive stations in pleasant surroundings are an important part of the public transport system and therefore play a major role in the accessibility of the Netherlands.

The material theme 'Accessibility' incorporates the sub-themes 'Reliable and accessible transport' and 'Safety':

Reliable and accessible transport

Material impacts, risks and opportunities

Impacts

NS has an impact on making and keeping the Netherlands accessible by offering the best possible transport product, facilitating optimal door-to-door travel and providing a pleasant travel and station experience. We connect busy and less busy parts of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands with European cities. Fulfilling a vital role in society and making a positive contribution to the Netherlands.

By making it possible to use our range of mobility options and our stations more and more independently, and with assistance where needed, NS helps people with physical or mental disabilities, people with literacy difficulties and the digitally challenged to participate in society. We have a positive impact by making transport and stations accessible to all, enabling people with disabilities to be and stay mobile and therefore access social life.

Risks

There are a number of risks associated with the sub-theme of reliable and accessible transport, such as risks of increasing timetable disruptions because not enough rolling stock is available or due to poor quality or availability of rail infrastructure.

The robustness of rolling stock is vulnerable, especially at peak times and for the longer term. Risks remain both in the delivery and maintenance of ICNG trains and new rolling stock to be supplied later on. Maintenance and repair capacity of new trains is being expanded, but this additional capacity may not be ready in time.

Infrastructure quality and availability are under huge pressure. Problems like temporary speed limits (TSL), track stability and safe usability increased. The number and duration of service interruptions is also increasing, leading to full schedules and little scope for setbacks. Projects often experience delays due to mounting ambitions, shortage of contractors, budget deficits and the implementation of ERTMS.

Policy, actions, indicators and targets

Policy

Reliable and accessible transport is at the heart of our business and is central to the NS Strategy for 2025-2035: reliable, affordable, committed (see the 'Strategy, business model and value chain' chapter under General Information). Our strategy is an overarching policy for reliable and accessible transport.

NS believes rail travel should be convenient and accessible, for everyone. Travelling is an essential condition for taking part in society. Our starting point is always the passenger: we want people with disabilities to be as satisfied with NS’s travel services as people without disabilities. We always work on the principle of 'independent where possible, with help where needed', cooperating with interest groups that represent people with disabilities. Together, we identify the barriers that passengers with disabilities still experience and the measures that will help make the journey more accessible. We capture lessons learned in our design and procurement processes. Our guiding principles for accessibility are set out in the NS Accessibility Guide.

Actions

NS is the concession holder for the main rail network for the period 2025-2033. Whereas the main rail network concession focuses on the long term, NS also draws up a transport plan every year in which we focus on the coming year. This plan describes our ambitions and measures and how we will serve our contracting authority's policy priorities.

Customer satisfaction

The overall customer satisfaction score is influenced by factors such as punctuality for passengers, seat availability and quality of travel information. With regard to public safety, we take measures within our sphere of influence to prevent public safety incidents and respond appropriately to incidents. This starts with physical presence at stations and on trains. We take measures to positively influence our passengers’ and employees’ perception of public safety. To do this, we focus on surveillance, control and enforcement through organisational, architectural and electronic measures, such as the deployment of specialised security personnel, check-in gates, cameras and bodycams.

Punctuality for passengers

Punctuality for passengers is largely determined by train punctuality, train cancellations and changes between trains. We manage these aspects as part of the Reliably Better programme. With the Reliably Better programme, ProRail and NS are committed to improving performance and providing a predictable and reliable timetable.

We take measures to ensure that sufficient trains are available, for example preventive replacement of train components and increasing capacity to quickly rectify faults. As long as speed limits are still in place, we incorporate their effects into the timetable wherever possible, to provide passengers with a more reliable journey through realistic arrival times and changeover options. We are working with ProRail to ensure a reliable timetable and better information for passengers about works.

Seat availability and passenger spread

We are committed to matching the number of available seats as closely as possible to the expected number of passengers. To achieve this, we concentrate our efforts in three areas: (1) Timetable and rolling stock deployment - this includes the frequencies in the timetable and the rolling stock deployment plan; (2) Passenger demand and spread - we focus on estimating the demand for transport as accurately as possible, providing information on crowding and stimulating passenger spread; and (3) Implementation and adjustments - this concerns the availability of rolling stock, implementation according to the deployment plan and timetable and making adjustments in the event of disruptions.

NS worked on several improvements in 2025. For example, communication on crowding was expanded, with particular attention to providing accurate crowding information during disrupted conditions. The NS Price Time Deal was expanded further, with the discount based on the expected crowding on the train. Passenger forecasts were also optimised during the year and rolling stock deployment was adjusted accordingly, with the aim of reducing the number of 'standing minutes'. During works, passenger forecasts were adjusted based on historical knowledge to align the rolling stock plan as closely as possible to the situation. Finally, within the timetable and within the availability of the rolling stock, the biggest obstacles to seat availability in second class were reduced.

Quality of travel information

Passengers must be able to rely on the information provided at stations and in online travel advice. NS took several steps to improve travel information in 2025. For instance, the notifications functionality in the app was optimised to ensure that passengers are now proactively notified of changes in their journey. In addition, the journey planner was expanded to make it easier to plan a complete door-to-door journey, with a wider range of other forms of transport. The locations of lifts and escalators, including any disruptions, were also made visible, so that passengers with physical disabilities can receive appropriate travel advice. Finally, predictions of the duration of disruptions were improved in cooperation with ProRail.

Accessibility

We aim to enable as many people with visible or invisible disabilities as possible to travel with us. NS took important steps in 2025 to make its services more accessible. Now that ProRail is making up-to-date lift information available to NDOV (National Public Transport Data), NS is working on integrating this information into its passenger information. In December 2025, NS also introduced travel assistance at two stations where this was previously impossible due to the platform situation: passengers using a mobility aid can now also travel with travel assistance from Hoogkarspel and Bovenkarspel-Grootebroek stations.

Some passengers need simple explanations or some extra information in order to travel by train. That is why NS attended the Netherlands' largest accessibility fair to inform passengers with physical disabilities about travelling with a disability. For Dutch Sign Language users, simple explanations about travelling by train are now also available in sign language at Steffie.nl. And for pupils in special secondary education, NS also offered the TreinTrainPakket this year, which includes a VR game about travelling by train and an experiential journey.

We also continued to have frequent discussions with interest groups for people with disabilities about the results of the semi-annual customer surveys, the needs of people with invisible disabilities and further steps to improve accessibility.

Indicators and targets

The HRN concession includes performance indicators. NS has an obligation to achieve at least the minimum value for these performance indicators every year, and to aim to achieve the target value by 2029. In addition, the concession information contains indicators that have no associated minimum and target values. When it comes to the station and chain experience, NS focuses on internal indicators.

Customer satisfaction

• *Customer satisfaction performance indicators are outside the scope of the external auditor's assurance.

The main measure of NS's service quality is the 'Overall customer satisfaction score'. This figure expresses passengers' satisfaction with the train service. The Performance Indicator 'Customer satisfaction with public safety' indicates the average score that NS passengers give the level of perceived safety at stations and on trains.

Customer satisfaction performance indicators are measured using the Public Transport Customer Barometer (OVKB). This survey is used across the public transport sector. The figure for 2025 will be published in the first quarter of 2026 and was not yet known at the time of publication of the NS annual report.

The station experience

The station is an essential link in the door-to-door journey by train: 25% of the overall rating for this journey is determined by the station rating. That’s why it is very important to NS that passengers experience the station as a pleasant location.

In 2025, passengers gave the 393 stations measured an average rating of 7.2, in line with 2024. In 2025, the score for the 55 larger stations (where more than 10,000 passengers get on and off the train every working day) was 7.3 (2024: 7.3). The renovations at Amsterdam Central and, to a slightly lesser extent, The Hague Central, contributed to additional challenges in the overall score this year, as these stations, with their high passenger numbers, play an important role in the final score. The 339 smaller stations (with fewer than 10,000 boarding and disembarking passengers) collectively achieved a score of 7.0 (2024: 7.0).

Chain experience

• *Given the small fleet size, public transport ebike has not been included in the measurement.

Since 2024, NS has conducted online customer satisfaction surveys through its Chain Experience Monitor. The Monitor focuses on the NS services Public Transport Bicycle, Bicycle Parking, Fiets & Service, Car Parking and Luggage Lockers. The survey is structured in the same way for each service to allow comparisons. Most services are performing as expected. We saw a positive development relative to the target in 2025, particularly in Bicycle & Service. On average, customers appreciate the personal contact, fast service that fits seamlessly into the door-to-door journey, and hospitality.

Punctuality

We express the reliability of rail transport in terms of punctuality for passenger, which involves measuring the difference between the arrival time of the planned and realised journey. To measure punctuality for passengers, we use the performance indicators 'Punctuality for passengers with a 3-minute margin on the main rail network' and 'Punctuality for passengers with a 10-minute margin on the main rail network': the percentage of passengers arriving within 3 and 10 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, respectively. NS and ProRail are jointly responsible for these performance indicators.

Starting in 2025, we will also focus on the new performance indicator 'High-impact disruptions caused by NS': the number of large-scale disruptions on which NS has an influence. The performance indicator 'Quality of NS connections with other carriers' measures the arrival punctuality of NS trains at stations where passengers can change to trains of other carriers. This gives an indication of changeovers made from NS trains to travel options of other carriers.

The punctuality score is partly due to the creation of a more robust basic timetable, resulting in a better ability to cope with smaller disruptions. One of the ways this was achieved was by scheduling extra minutes at strategic times. This creates more scope to catch up with delays, making it less likely that subsequent trains will also be delayed. Extra care is taken to ensure that passengers make their changeover on low-frequency connections (two or fewer trains per hour in each direction). Missing this changeover often leads to longer waiting times than for high-frequency connections (four or more trains per hour in each direction). Guidelines have therefore been drawn up so that trains wait for each other, provided the delay is not too long.

The 'Reliably Better' improvement programme has ensured more robust and reliable timetable planning during works. ProRail has also reduced the number of Temporary Speed Limits (TSLs). In addition, NS and ProRail have incorporated speed limits on the High-Speed Line (HSL) into the structure of timetables to reduce their impact on the rest of the country. As a result, punctuality for passengers on the HSL route has improved compared to previous years.

The number of disruptions caused by NS in 2025 was 77. Most major disruptions are caused by faults in the rolling stock, which then often lead to stranding or blocking of sections of track. The quality of connections to other carriers has been affected by a number of underperforming train series, including the connection of high-speed rail (HSL) trains at Amersfoort, and the impact of additional goods traffic on the Brabant route due to the service interruption at Emmerich.

Seat availability and passenger spread

The seat availability indicators show the chance that a second-class passenger will find a seat for the entire journey. The difference between these two indicators is the time of check-in (peak and off-peak respectively). With the indicator 'Number of crowded peak-hour trains per week', NS focuses on limiting the number of trains occupied above the 'full' standard. This means that all regular seats are occupied and four passengers per square metre are standing in the vestibules.

The rolling stock plan and the quality of its implementation have a major impact on the passenger's chance of finding a seat. In the first half of 2025, the rolling stock plan was implemented to a high degree and trains often ran according to schedule. In autumn 2025, train cancellations were more frequent; however seat availability was maintained. The additional second-class capacity in the sprinters, created by converting first-class seats to second-class seats, contributed to this. Differentiated train maintenance – less on Tuesdays and Thursdays, more on other days – also ensured an expanded rolling stock plan on the busiest days of the week.

Disruptions in the train service and the deployment of rolling stock affect the realisation of the performance indicator 'Number of crowded peak-hour trains per week'. The realisation can also be traced back to the crowding on the train routes via the High Speed Line (HSL) Schiphol-Rotterdam-Breda. The number of crowded peak-hour trains was particularly high during peak hours on the HSL routes and during major works or disruptions on the diversion routes.

Quality of travel information

The Performance Indicator 'Quality of Travel Information including Disruptions' reflects the extent to which delays, track changes and cancelled stops were communicated to NS passengers in a timely and accurate manner, and full and timely perspective for action was also provided in the event of serious disruptions, with an accurate forecast of the duration of the disruption.

The score for this indicator was 72.7% in 2025. Statistical analyses improved the quality of forecasts of the duration of a severe disruption, and thus passengers’ perspective for action. The method of passing on delay to subsequent stations was also optimised. Instead of national standards, the method is tailored to the train's actual driving behaviour, which more often gives an accurate indication of the amount of delay.

Channels for reporting complaints

Customer service and social media interaction

NS Customer Service's strategy is to be accessible through various channels, including phone, social media, email and chat. In accordance with our terms and conditions, passengers can get their money back in the event of delay and compensation for alternative transport, taxis and hotels. In 2025, our customers rated our customer service 7.3 out of 10. The year was dominated by the impact of NS staff strikes. From June, NS deployed additional capacity and trained its employees to enable the processing of additional customer requests due to the strike. Despite the capacity required for the additional requests due to the strikes, we were easily accessible to our customers on all channels.

Safety

Material impacts, risks and opportunities

Impact

The safety of NS' operations has an impact on people's well-being. Passengers and visitors can suffer damage to their health due to an unsafe train journey or unsafe stations. Our operations involve inherent risks within the railway safety domain. These are risks of injury from an accident on or around the track due to situations such as a crash, collision, derailment, fire or smoke. Injuries can also occur if passengers fall or become trapped while boarding and disembarking from trains.

Risk

One risk is that a cybersecurity incident will lead to a company-wide IT outage at NS. Technology and train technology within NS is being digitised at a rapid pace, leading to a much more complex digital landscape. Within NS, we distinguish between Cyber-physical Technology (digital systems connected to the physical world), Information Technology (IT) and now also Artificial Intelligence Technology (AIT). These developments make it harder to guarantee digital continuity. The risk of cyber-attacks is ever present and increases when management processes are not implemented in a timely manner. Such attacks can threaten the continuity of business processes and result in unauthorised access to business information and personal data.

Policy, actions, indicators and targets

Policy

Railway safety

NS's railway safety policy is set out in the NS Operations QHSE (quality, health, safety and environment) Policy Statement, and aims to ensure a safe journey and environment for passengers. The goal is to minimise the risk of accidents and guarantee a safe and reliable journey.

Within NS, NS Reizigers BV, NS International BV and NedTrain BV each have an operating licence and a 'Single Safety Certificate'. Both are required in order to operate as a railway undertaking. The 'Single Safety Certificate' is awarded to railway undertakings that have a safety management system (SMS) that demonstrably complies with European and national laws and regulations. The SMS consists of documented information, such as policies, processes and procedures, through which we identify railway safety risks, determine control measures, continuously monitor them and also record how we deal with any deviations. As a result, the railway safety risks arising from our business activities are safely managed and we comply with all safety obligations that apply to us. We have a single SMS within NS. This SMS was certified in 2023 for the maximum duration of five years and is audited annually by the national regulator, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate.

NS is committed to continuously improving safety. In order to achieve this, we apply the following principles:

• NS's safety efforts are focused on preventing incidents and accidents.

• Leadership in safety is an important prerequisite for every employee and the starting point for managers. Management sets the standard through exemplary behaviour and by creating a working environment in which every employee knows and plays their role in railway safety.

• Every employee contributes to railway safety by adhering to safety agreements, actively participating in training, identifying potential hazards, calling each other to account, engaging in respectful dialogue and informing management in this regard.

• NS clearly sets out risks in its operations and takes adequate measures on this basis.

• We take safety and human factors into account from the outset when developing new processes. This ensures that safety and human factors are an integral part of new developments and that a safe and viable train product is provided from the outset.

• We make rail travel safe in the Netherlands together with ProRail, other carriers, regulators and other stakeholders. In this respect, NS sees itself as a frontrunner in railway safety.

Cyber security

NS has an overarching Cybersecurity Strategy. This strategy was adopted in 2024 and will run until the end of 2026. The document outlines what we will do in the five main areas of cybersecurity: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover. Govern was added in 2025.

NS's cyber security policy is set out in the NS Cybersecurity Policy Management Framework and focuses on protecting both IT and cyber-physical systems from cyber threats and attacks.

We adopt a control-centric cybersecurity approach. The controls play a central role:

• as a means of countering cyber threats;

• as measures for all kinds of assets (systems, processes, applications, etc.);

• as an outcome of risk analyses on assets;

• as input for measuring and monitoring levels of compliance and cybersecurity;

• as measures to comply with external systems of standards.

NS is making ongoing efforts to become more digitally resilient, which includes continuously improving our policy and approach. For instance, we are more closely monitoring implementation of the controls and are further professionalising our policy and management system. Adopting an integrated approach to policy, risks and measures enables us to better match measures to actual risks. We record this in the CSMS, the cybersecurity management system.

Policy deviations are essentially not permitted but are sometimes unavoidable, temporarily or otherwise. Deviations at all levels of the policy are recorded and managed. Structural deviations can lead to policy adjustments.

Actions, indicators and targets

Railway safety

• *The total number of SPADs. The number of SPADs on the main rail network is 37.

The information indicator 'Number of SPADs' shows the number of times a train has passed a signal at danger (signal passed at danger: SPAD, 'red signal') in the absence of a technical infrastructural cause, a signalling failure or permission by the dispatcher to pass the signal.

In 2025, a total of 40 SPAD (signal passed at danger) incidents were registered. In 6 of these cases, the train reached a ‘danger point’: a point where the SPAD could actually have resulted in a collision, crash or derailment. In none of the incidents did this actually happen. NS aims to reduce the number of SPAD incidents where a danger point is reached to zero.

There were 125 railway safety incidents and 23 accidents in 2025. We call an event an accident if it results in more than €150,000 in damage or if someone is seriously injured or dies. Suicides are not counted.

The accidents involved (explicitly stating if someone died):

• 13 level crossing accidents (in which 5 people died);

• 3 collisions involving a person (in which 1 person died);

• 1 explosion of an electrical box on the train;

• 2 collisions between two trains on the yard tracks;

• 1 derailment of a train on the yard tracks;

• 3 people who fell while boarding and disembarking the train.

Railway safety is ensured by managing risks. We use indicators (data on incidents and circumstances/developments that can lead to incidents) to predict and retrospectively measure performance. This involves using IT solutions to record and update risks and measures. In addition to continuously monitoring existing risks, NS’s work in 2025 included:

• Organisation-wide improvement of the approach to risk management: NS does a number of things to support the development of the so-called Rail System of the Future, such as providing unambiguous management guidelines and methods to achieve safety targets, and ensuring continuous improvement.

• Support for new and ongoing projects in establishing and implementing risk management: a strong focus is of course placed on major programmes such as ERTMS, the Technically Guided Departure progress (Airport Sprinter) and the introduction of the Eurocity Direct from Lelystad to Brussels.

• Strengthening our safety culture: NS draws up an annual plan setting out specific actions for improvement based on periodic safety culture measurements. The measurements provide a basis for improvement. Our ambition is a proactive safety culture. In 2025, we set up the QHSE Academy for the purpose of structural substantive training and cultural interventions. The training programme will be rolled out in 2026.

Cyber security

To prevent IT continuity incidents and failure of critical IT processes, NS replaces outdated systems and implements damage control and cyber-attack mitigation measures. New European cyber regulations, such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the Security of Network and Information Systems Act (Wbni) and its successor the Cybersecurity Act (Cbw), provide the legal frameworks in this area. The Cbw is expected to come into force in the Netherlands in mid-2026.

We have identified the main cyber risks and the most effective measures to mitigate them. Every quarter, we report developments to the Executive Board and adjust the risk picture if necessary. We ensure that our biggest risks are reduced so that they remain within NS's established Cybersecurity Risk Appetite.

NS used the indicator 'Avoidable P1 cyber incidents' in 2025. Our aim is to ensure that fewer than three preventable P1 cybersecurity incidents occur. Examples of P1 incidents include hacks, unauthorised access, malware and virus infections, and the leaking of login credentials through successful phishing attacks on users with high access rights.

The four cybersecurity incidents in question had no material impact on business operations.