The European Commission has formally challenged the Dutch government over concerns that its current railway capacity allocation rules illegally shield the state-owned rail operator from international competition. According to a preliminary assessment by EU antitrust regulators, the regulations established by the Netherlands may directly breach European Union competition laws by unfairly disadvantaging alternative operators seeking to utilize the Dutch rail network.
The dispute stems from the recent liberalization of the Dutch passenger rail market. In 2025, the Netherlands was required to open its domestic network to commercial competition, theoretically allowing independent companies to run passenger services alongside the incumbent state operator, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). As the nation’s largest transport provider, NS maintains a dominant grip on the market, operating primary domestic routes through its subsidiary, NS Reizigers, under a long-term concession contract running until 2033. Furthermore, its international arm collaborates with other European state rail giants like Germany’s DB and Belgium’s SNCB to connect Dutch cities with major cross-border destinations.
However, European authorities argue that the spirit of this open market is being stifled by safety nets woven into Dutch regulations. Prior to the 2025 market opening, the Netherlands introduced capacity allocation rules that guarantee NS absolute priority over competitors whenever track space or train paths become congested. The European Commission believes that these priority rules create an uneven playing field. By guaranteeing preferential access to the incumbent, the framework severely limits the opportunities available to new entrants, effectively allowing NS to maintain or strengthen its monopoly power on international routes.
From a legal standpoint, the Commission warns that these practices likely violate Article 106 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union when read in tandem with Article 102, which strictly prohibits companies from abusing a dominant market position, particularly when granted special or exclusive state rights.
To address the issue, Brussels has dispatched a Letter of Formal Notice to the Dutch government, marking the first official stage of an antitrust investigation. The Netherlands now has a two-month window to review the Commission’s case file and submit its observations. While the formal notice does not guarantee a final ruling of wrongdoing, a failure to alleviate the EU’s competition concerns could ultimately force the Netherlands to rewrite its railway regulations to ensure fair cross-border access for all operators.
