The Dutch government will have to set aside 166 million euros to cover the losses incurred by Dutch Rail’s high-speed rail link.

A confidential report by a parliamentary committee, leaked to Dutch public TV, concludes that high-speed passenger numbers have been well below expectations.
 
The news follows a “rescue package” for the high-speed rail link introduced by Transport Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen last November.

The Freedom Party (PVV) asked Ms Schultz at a parliamentary hearing today whether she had a proper overview of all the solutions. Democrats D66 MP Kees Verhoeven called her lack of contact with other rail companies “bizarre”.

The line between Amsterdam and Belgium is run by High Speed Alliance (HSA), a subsidiary company of the Dutch railway company NS and KLM airlines. During today's hearing, foreign competitors Virgin and Deutsche Bahn complained that they were not given a chance to help find a solution for the low numbers of passengers.
 
In November, Minister Schultz decided to sign an agreement with the NS, under which the line would become part of the normal rail service. The deal will cost hundreds of millions of euros, but bankruptcy would have cost billions, reports Dutch news agency ANP.

In response, the minister says that she did not want to give companies the impression that she was about to place an order. If that had been the case, then it would have been impossible to merge the ordinary rail line with the high-speed line. “We think integrating the two is a better solution for travellers and tax payers,” said a spokesperson for the minister.
 
 
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