Dutch rail network operator ProRail has plans to invest €3.5bn in the coming 10 years on expanding existing stations and building new ones to cope with the expected 30% to 40% growth in passengers.

The money will come from national and local government as well as the train companies, ProRail, which is state-owned, said.

The initial focus will be on improving regional stations, which are used by over one million people every day and are in urgent need of improvement, ProRail director Pier Eringa said in the Telegraaf, ahead of the presentation of the plans.

Up to 20 to 30 new stations may also be built, once negotiations with government and developers have been concluded, Eringa told the paper.

Upgrade

In February, passenger service operator NS said it had set aside €65m to upgrade services at 200 railway stations over the next five years.

The changes focus on improving facilities for passengers who are waiting for a train by providing them with a more comfortable waiting room and better toilet facilities.

NS research involving over 80,500 travellers found that 76% give train stations a score of at least seven out of 10, a rise of 11 percentage points on 2014. The improvement is largely down to the renovation programme at larger railway stations which has been underway since then, NS said.