Money back for delays – how it works
Have you had a delay on an NS train? Then, under certain conditions, you're entitled to compensation for (part of) your travel costs. Below I'll explain the exceptions: the situations where, despite a qualifying delay, you still get nothing back. For the complete picture of your rights as a train passenger, see our Know Your Rights guide.
When do you qualify?
You're entitled to money back if:
- The delay is at least 30 minutes on a regular NS train.
- For the high-speed lines (Intercity Direct or the Intercity The Hague–Eindhoven via Breda), you can apply for compensation from 15 minutes of delay onwards.
When do you not get compensation?
There are a number of situations in which you don't get money back, even if you had a delay:
- The compensation is lower than €2.30
- It was announced in advance that the journey time would be longer (e.g. due to engineering works)
- The delay was caused by an operator other than NS
- You didn't have a valid ticket
- You apply for the compensation 3 months or more after the travel date
- There was an "exceptional case of force majeure", for example a nationwide power outage.
How much money do you get back?
How much the compensation is depends on:
- whether you travelled on a standard ticket or a high-speed line,
- how long your delay was,
- and what kind of ticket you have (OV-chipkaart, e-ticket, etc.).
Below is a table of the compensation amounts:
| Delay on arrival | Compensation regular train | Compensation high-speed line (Intercity Direct / IC The Hague–Eindhoven via Breda) |
|---|---|---|
| 15–29 minutes | no compensation | 50% of the ticket price |
| 30–59 minutes | 50% of the ticket price | 100% of the ticket price |
| 60+ minutes | 100% of the ticket price | – |
How do you claim your money back?
Depending on your ticket and how you travelled:
- through the NS online form. Nederlandse Spoorwegen
- through trein-vertraging.nl, link your OV-chipkaart and claim your money back easily!
Please note: you can only submit an application 24 hours after your journey. trein-vertraging.nl automatically takes this into account.