Dutch railway passengers have experienced more delays due to problems with the trains themselves so far this year, the Algemeen Dagblad reported on Tuesday.

A train breakdown creates a delay of more than one hour and 188 such incidents have already been reported, a rise of 61% on the first quarter of 2016, the paper said.

Rikus Spithorst of public transport users lobby group Maatschappij voor Beter OV told the AD this was the result of a shortage of train engines. ‘The more kilometres you travel until the next maintenance programme, the more the engines break down,’ he said.

Engine drivers have also told the paper maintenance was often postponed.

Prorail, the government organisation which maintains the national railway network infrastructure, said many problems occurred on the Intercity route between Amsterdam to Breda route where some 12% of services are cancelled.