Were you delayed by a technical fault on the train? That is not an exceptional circumstance. NS is responsible for maintaining its own rolling stock. If this makes you arrive 30 minutes or more late at your destination, you simply get your money back.
Why a train fault is not an exceptional circumstance
The exceptional-circumstance clause in the NS terms is meant for situations NS has no influence over. Think of extreme weather, a national power cut or an announced strike. A broken train does not belong on that list. NS maintains its own rolling stock, so a fault in it falls within its own sphere of risk. That is exactly the kind of risk the Money Back on Delays scheme covers.
Which situations count
A train fault includes, among others:
- A faulty door that no longer opens or closes
- Broken air conditioning or heating that takes a train out of service
- A technical fault that strands a train mid-journey
A signalling failure or an overhead-line failure is slightly different, because it sits on the track rather than on the train itself. That also falls within the responsibility of NS, so compensation applies there too. You can read more about where exceptional circumstances end and the responsibility of NS begins in our article on delays from storm, snow or a disruption.
What you get back
| 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, such as the Intercity Direct and the Intercity from The Hague to Eindhoven via Breda, this already applies from 15 minutes of delay. If you hold a season ticket, NS calculates with a share of your monthly price instead of a single fare. You can read exactly how that works in our overview of money back per NS season ticket.
How to file your claim
You file your claim through the Money Back on Delays scheme, up to three months after your travel date. Make sure you checked in and out correctly, or keep a valid ticket. Briefly state the cause, although it makes no difference to the outcome whether you write "fault" or "technical failure": both fall within the responsibility of NS.
Did the fault also make you miss a connection? That extra delay counts towards your arrival at your destination too. You can read more about that in our article on a missed connection after a train delay.
Instead of working out every time whether your delay counts, you can also have it handled automatically. Link your OV-pas, OV-chipkaart or OVpay at trein-vertraging.nl and we find and claim every valid delay for you, including one caused by a train fault.
