NS is the biggest train operator in the Netherlands and is contracted to operate the core rail passenger network that connects all the key cities until 2015.
Everyday, NS operates 5,000 trains, carrying 1 million passengers.
The NS fleet consists of 2,800 train units, many of which are double deck and can carry up to 1,200 passengers.
There are ten train operators in the Netherlands; four running passenger services and six running freight services.
In 2004, these operators ran 130 million train kilometres and 40 billion-ton kilometres on 2800 kilometres of track.
However, the core network operated by NS is even more densely used. NS currently runs 85 million train kilometres per year over 1,500 kilometres of track.
NS, with the airline KLM, have won the concession for operating the high-speed rail link between Amsterdam and the south of Holland, due for completion in 2007.
Since 1993 NS became an independent and profitable company without government subsidy for the core network.
