Were you delayed because your train stood still after a collision on the track? In most cases you simply get your money back, even though NS is officially allowed to call this an exceptional circumstance. Below you can read how that works, and what to do if your claim is rejected anyway.
What the scheme officially says
A collision with a person or a vehicle, at a level crossing for example, counts as an exceptional circumstance under the NS terms. Those are situations NS considers to lie outside its own sphere of risk. Officially NS may invoke this and reject a claim, even when your delay runs well past 30 minutes.
What NS does in practice
In practice it works out differently. NS rarely invokes the exceptional-circumstance clause to reject a single claim from an individual passenger. The amount per claim is small, so for an ordinary delay caused by a collision a claim is almost always worth filing.
It is different for very large, nationally disruptive events, where thousands of passengers claim at once. NS may then look more strictly at the exceptional-circumstance clause. For the everyday delay you run into, that changes nothing.
What you get back if the claim is approved
| Delay at your destination | What you get back |
|---|---|
| 30 to 59 minutes | 50% of your fare |
| 60 minutes or more | 100% of your fare |
On the high-speed (HSL) routes this already applies from 15 minutes of delay. The condition remains that you held a valid ticket and checked in and out correctly.
What if your claim is rejected anyway?
Does NS reject your claim by invoking an exceptional circumstance? Ask for the reasoning and object within six weeks. Unsure in advance whether your situation counts? Filing a claim costs nothing at trein-vertraging.nl. When in doubt, filing is always worth it, just as it is for a delay caused by storm, snow or a disruption.
