Country info: Netherlands (Nederland)

Rail companies: NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen)

Dutch Rail Network Map 

Currency : Euro

Train travel in Netherlands: train types, tickets, fares, discounts & other info

National Train Service:

Train types in Netherlands: Regional, Express, InterCity, international high-speed (Thalys, ICE, Fyra) & CityNightLine trains

• Regional (marked as ‘Stoptrein’ & 'Sneltrein' on NS website) – local & regional train service, no seat reservation required
• Express (marked as 'Sprinter' on NS website) - nationwide service connecting major and minor Dutch destinations, no seat reservation required
  
• InterCity  (marked as IC on NS website) – fast intercity service with stops at some major stations only, no seat reservation required
• Thalys/ICE/Fyra – international high speed trains connecting Netherlands with France, Germany and Belgium, seat reservation compulsory (except ICE on route Amsterdam - Utrecht - Arnhem, for which only 2 euro supplement required)
• CityNightLine (marked as CNL on NS website) – international overnight sleeper trains, seat/bed reservation compulsory

Validity of Trains Tickets in Netherlands: Single & Return domestic tickets in Netherlands are valid for one day, thus from 00:00 on the date shown on the ticket to 04:00am the following morning

Discounts, special offers & ways to save money for passengers traveling in Netherlands:

1. Passengers planning to visit couple destinations within Netherlands can do it using only one through ticket. Since with NS single/return tickets stopovers are allowed (as far as you complete the entire journey withing the validity period of a ticket) it is possible instead of buying two, three etc. separate tickets purchase only one through ticket via destinations you want to visit
   
2. Passengers planning to travel extensively in the Netherlands might consider NS Day Travel Cards, which allows unlimited journeys within Netherlands during one day. Day Travel Card costs 48 euro for 2^nd class & 80 euro for 1^st class
   
3. Traveling with children? Take advantage of NS special child fare (Railrunner Offer) - children can travel for just 2,5 euro (up to 3 children for one adult traveling on full fare ticket)
4. Besides full fare Day Travel Cards offered at the train station, NS often has Day Travel Cards sales through various Dutch consumer chains (HEMA, Albert Heijn or JUMBO supermarket, Kruidvat farmacy etc.). As reported by fellow traveler from Netherlands, sometimes passengers can get such ticket for as low as 12,5-15 euro. So in case you or some friends of yours happened to go shopping, why not to shop for cheap rail tickets?
5. Besides various NS offers passengers can also save while travelling in Netherlands with a help of international SCIC-NRT/TCV tariff tickets (for more details about this 'trick' see 'Western Europe – how cheap it can be?' section). Basically such international tickets, which allow multiple stopovers & valid for one month, work as a sort of pass for the predefined route, for instance ticket from the very southwest part of the Netherlands - Vlissingen to the farthest north-east part - Groningen via whole Netherlands costs only 46,6 euro
   

International Train Service:

a) Regular discounts

Not available

b) Special offers (SpaSrchiene)

Ticket offers with limited number of tickets per each departure (purchase in advance required):

• Belgium: from Amsterdam to Brussels (from only 29 euro with Thalys, 46,4 euro Same Day Return with InterCity train or 43,2 Weekend Return with InterCity train)
  
• Germany: from Amsterdam to Cologne, Dusseldorf, Duisburg, Osnabruck, Dortmund, Essen, Bonn, Oberhausen (from only 19 euro), from Amsterdam to Munich, Koblenz, Munster, Hannover (from 29 euro), from Amsterdam to Bremen (from only 33 euro), from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, Karlsruhe (from 39 euro), from Amsterdam to Hamburg, Braunschweig (from 43 euro), from Amsterdam to Berlin, Manheim (from 49 euro), from Amsterdam to Stuttgart (from 73 euro), from Amsterdam to Kufstein (from 83 euro) etc.
  
• Great Britain: from Amsterdam to London (from 73 euro)
  
• France: from Amsterdam to Paris (from 35 euro), from Amsterdam to Agde, Cannes, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Narbonne, Nice, Perpignan, Toulon (from 58 euro), from Amsterdam to Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Marseille, Valence (from 60 euro) etc.
  
• Switzerland: from Amsterdam to Zurich & Basel (from 29 euro), from Amsterdam to Bern (from 59 euro)
• Austria: from Amsterdam to Innsbruch (from 29 euro), from Amsterdam to Salzburg (from 53,5 euro), from Amsterdam to Vienna (from 105,3 euro) etc.
• Luxembourg: from Amsterdam to Luxembourg Ville (58,5 euro)

+ special offers to neighboring biggest airports (like Cologne/Bonn; Düsseldorf; Paris etc.)

c) CityStars

Not available

Passenger planning to travel extensively to/from Netherlands (& between other European countries) also might consider purchasing Rail Plus Card which allows receive 25% discount on standard fare international tickets

How to Buy Train Tickets in Netherlands:

National (domestic) & many international tickets (including offers) can be bought online NS websites - www.ns.nl/eticket (domestic) and here - www.nshispeed.nl (international)

Do you still have further questions or want to share your own travel experience? You are welcome on our Forum page

Disclaimer

Information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. While we make every attempt to manage and update all the data regarding ticket fares, discounts, travel options etc., EuropeTrainsGuide.com gives no assurance or warranty regarding the accuracy, timeliness, or applicability of any of the content or information on the site.

EuropeTrainsGuide.com is not a profit oriented company or travel agency, we just a small website created by group of rail fans in order to share knowledge & expertise about traveling by train in Europe. Therefore, we’ll appreciate any help/corrections from your side, in case you’ve noticed a mistake or know some additional information that might help other fellow travelers please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , lets together make European rail travel easier & cheaper