OV Fiets
Exception: Error in GetSetCacheObject: Thread was being aborted.
Revenue
Exception: Error in GetSetCacheObject: Thread was being aborted.
Abellio
NS is continuing to acquire experience on the European railway market through Abellio and we are preparing for any further deregulation of the railways. Revenue grew once again in 2018 following the addition of West Midlands in the United Kingdom and the expansion of our stake in WestfalenBahn in Germany from 25% to 100% at the end of 2017. This trend is expected to continue in the next year when Dieselnetz Sachsen-Anhalt and Rhein Ruhr Express start operation. The performance of ScotRail and Greater Anglia was disappointing.
Finance
It is crucial for NS to remain financially sound in the future as well. NS has invested substantially in new trains and IT, among other things. These investments are much needed but the outlay needs to be recouped. However, NS only has limited options for growing its income. NS can look back on a healthy year in financial terms. Revenues were €5,926 million, which is an increase with respect to 2017 (€5,121 million). NS made investments totalling €898 million. The main rail network franchise KPIs for 2019 are also determining factors in the financial policy for the NS business plan: for example, we are continuing to invest in programmes that will help us achieve the KPIs, as well as in customer satisfaction, new rolling stock and IT systems.
Our impact
Passengers travelled over 250 million kilometres more by train in 2018 compared to 2017, which means that our positive social impact on mobility and safe travel with respect to cars has improved once again. Our environmental impact also improved because our trains have been running entirely on wind power since 2017. Furthermore, measures were taken that reduced the negative impact of time spent travelling in packed trains. Studies into how passengers spend their time in the train and at the station showed that they are increasingly making good use of this time, reducing the negative impact of journey time.
NS in 2019
Over the coming year, the focus will be on performing as well as possible for our passengers on the main rail network. As regards the HSL South, it is incredibly important that everyone involved remains sharp and focused on delivering good performance. We are continuing to invest in new trains; the new CAF Sprinters are being brought into operation in phases starting with the new 2019 timetable.