Commission welcomes Nederlandse Spoorwegen’s new sales policy for railway vehicles and closes antitrust investigation

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission has decided to close its preliminary antitrust probe into allegedly anticompetitive behaviour by the Dutch State-owned rail incumbent Nederlandse Spoorwegen (‘NS‘). The closure of the investigation follows NS’ effective engagement with the Commission, resulting in a new sales policy for the railway vehicles that NS phases out.

NS is the largest passenger transport company in the Netherlands. It offers domestic rail transport in the Netherlands as well as international rail transport from the Netherlands to Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the UK.

The Commission has investigated the way NS manages its railway vehicles when they reach the end of their useful life, in particular NS’ choice between holding them in reserve, selling them or dismantling them. In particular, the Commission was concerned that the company may restrict competing rail carriers from acquiring rolling-stock leaving NS’ rail passenger operations.

Following a constructive dialogue between the Commission and NS, on 12 November 2026 the company published a new policy for its phased-out passenger rolling stock. Under the new policy, NS will offer for sale the rolling stock that it no longer plans to use. The sale will take place through an open, transparent and non-discriminatory process.

After careful assessment of all evidence gathered, the Commission has concluded that the new policy addresses its competition concerns and will contribute to the development of a market for second-hand passenger vehicles in the Netherlands and beyond.

The closure of the preliminary probe is not a finding that the conduct in question complied with EU competition rules. The Commission will continue to monitor business practices in all sectors, including in the second-hand passenger vehicles one, to ensure a level playing field to the benefit of businesses and consumers.

Background

The availability of rolling stock is essential for the rail transport services. Buying new rolling stock is expensive and requires long delivery times, in particular for passenger vehicles. This presents a challenge, especially for smaller operators and new entrants, who often struggle to finance their investments compared to large incumbents and their subsidiaries.

In this context, purchasing second-hand rolling stock can be a fast and cost-efficient solution for new entrants, but it depends on the established operators being willing to sell the trains they no longer use to future competitors.

To boost the development of a second-hand rolling stock market, the Commission has announced in its high-speed rail action plan that it would propose legislation to ban anticompetitive scrapping of functioning and safe rolling stock and to create transparent conditions for its resale and use across Member States.

For more information

Nederlandse Spoorwegen webpage