NETHERLANDS - RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67-00059A000500050004-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 25, 2001
• Sequence Number: 4
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2001/11/01 : CIA-RDP67-00059AO00500050004-7
Approved For Release 2001/11/01 : CIA-RDP67-00059AO00500050004-7
 Approved For Release 2001/11/01 : CIA-RDP67-00059AO00500050004-7
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XMI-MANDS __WAY TRAMaPORTATION
A. POI
J.k
4.
5.
1. Railways of the Netherlands are state-owned and operated.
Rail policy is determined by the state through the 74ini-
stry of Transport. The government is concerned, at present,
with rehabilitation of the railways which su"fered extensive
war damage. Pre-war studies indicate that: rails accounted
for only 15 per cent of all traffic; the principal mode of
transport, insofar as freight is concerned, is by water;
rails, however, account for the bulk of passenger traffic;
and passenger revenues exceed freight revenues on the rail-
roads. It may be expected that raile will assume increasing
importance in netherlands transport as war damage is elimi-
nated and the need grown for rapid transit.
2. Rail policies are determined by the Netherlands Railways
Company under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport.
Policies for rail transport, while determined independently
from other forms of transport, are subject to integration and
central administration by the Ministry.
3. The' vulnerability of the Dutch railways was amply demonstrated
during the var. Strategic considerations, however, have had
little effect on development of the railways, which lie off
the main European east-rest traffic routes, and serve a pur-
pose primarily domestic.
Under the policy of complete ownership and control of rail
transport, the state is directly concerned with the development
of new equipment and the replacing of ways and rolling stock
destroyed by the war. "ince the end of the war, the state has
directed large sums of money to reconstruction work.
State policy with respect to railroads has been developed
primarily under the impact of economic and political forces.
The geography of the country dictated that first efforts toward
transport development be directed toward the waterways, but
during recent years (since c.1900), the str to has recognized
that railroads offer probably the best all-around transport
system. Mail policy is now influenced considerably by the
rapid strides made by highway transportation.
B. ORGANIZATI2N
1. The railroad system of the Netherlands is under the authority
of the Ministry of Transport. However, actual operation of
the lines is under the jurisdiction of the Committee of Man-
agement of the Netherlands Railways Company. A Rate Commis-
sion, independent of the Ministry of Transport approves rates
for all forms of transportation.
2. The Committee of Management is appointed by the Ninistry.of
Transport. It has complete control over railway operations.
The Committee is composed of representatives of both state
and private enterprise.
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Ed SANDS - RAII1i AY TRANSPORTATION (B-21
3. The various agencies within the Ministry of Transport dealing
with the several media of transportation are not related to
each other. The Ministry, however, coordinates all transport
policy.
4.
5.
The present Ministry of Transport was established by the Royal
Decree of 18 July 1946, which also abolished the old Ministry
of Transport and Poser. By the same decree, the winistry of
Shipping was abolished and its functions were assumed by the
W.nistry of Transport.
The rail system of the Netherlands was badly damaged in 1940
by the retreating Dutch Army and later by Allied bombing and by
the German policy of retribution for the rail strike in Septem-
ber 1944, called as an aid to the Allied effort. The rail sys-
tem is recovering its pre-ear efficiency as fast as shortages
of material and rolling stock will permit. The Ministry of
Transport appears to be operating efficiently and in the public
interest.
C. ADLIINISTRATION
1. The state, through its ownership of the rail system, determines
the program for construction or extension of rail lines. Such
plans must be clearly in the national interest and necessary to
the general welfare.
2. Rates on all transport must be approved by the Rate Commission,
similar in function to the US Interstate Commerce Commission.
3. The state does not favor competition between the state-owned
rail lines and the privately-owned water carriers. Such com-
petition was one of the primary causes for the state's action
in organizing the railroads into a state-owned company. The
action of the state in recent years leads observers, and par-
ticularly the water carriers, to believe that the state is
attempting to move away from its traditional policy of depend-
ence upon inland waterways.
4.
There is no state agency dealing specifically with inspection
of equipment, but the Scientific Commercial Car Institute, a
private organization, contracts to inspect cars and issue cer-
tificates of loading capacities.
5. Technical education in the Netherlands is sponsored Increas-
ingly by the state and consists of full and part-time training
covering a wide range of trades and professions. Excellent
training courses for railroad technicians are provided by the
rtate University at Delft. The state does not sponsor railroad
training, however, to the extent that it sponsors training in
navigation (inland and ocean-going).
6. The railroads of the Netherlands are a party to the Bern Con-
vention regarding traffic, rates, facilities and related inter-
national traffic matters.
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Approved For Release 2001/11/01 : CIA-RDP67-00059AO00500050004-7