Trains pass Tilburg University station too often

Anyone waiting for a train at Tilburg University station runs a noticeable risk: the train may simply pass by without stopping. The university station is skipped relatively often, and according to logistics professor Jan Fransoo, the problem could worsen in the future.

Travelers at Tilburg University station regularly see their train pass by instead of stopping. This leads to frustration among students and university staff, who sometimes arrive late for lectures or exams as a result.

According to logistics professor Jan Fransoo, this happens because a kind of bottleneck forms on the railway between Tilburg and Breda. Trains are more likely to be delayed there, causing stations further along the line, such as Tilburg University, to be skipped in order to restore the timetable.

The problem may grow due to new plans by the Dutch Railways (NS). The NS intends to increase the frequency of intercity trains between Eindhoven, The Hague, and Rotterdam in the coming years. More trains on the same track increase the likelihood of delays, and therefore also the chance that the university station will be passed.

Most frequently skipped station in the Netherlands

Two years ago, Tilburg University station was even the most frequently skipped station in the Netherlands. Figures obtained by NOS from the NS show that in 2023 the station was skipped 271 times. That amounts to 0.8 percent of all scheduled stops and occurs when a sprinter train has a delay of more than eight minutes.

Fransoo sees a possible solution: ‘You could turn Tilburg University station into an intercity station. Then trains would have to stop there. You could also think of an intermediate solution, where only some intercity trains stop there.’